


I Didn't Ask For Any of This

by courtts



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bodyswap, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-09-20 12:43:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9491414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/courtts/pseuds/courtts
Summary: Hinata always wanted to be taller, but he wasn't expecting it to happen likethis.(aka a completely self-indulgent ushihina bodyswap au)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself I wouldn't ship Ushijima with anyone, but here we are

Nothing interesting ever happened on a Sunday.

After all, Sundays were the one day of the week Hinata had off from volleyball. It was the one day of the week he wasn't able to feel the contact of the ball against his palm, feeling blood rushing through his veins as it struck the floor with a "thud." Instead of getting to spike balls around at the Karasuno gym, Hinata was usually stuck indoors working on homework assignments he had put off for the entire week.

He thought the cycle of monotony would be broken when Ukai Senior invited him and Kageyama to practice at his facility on a cloudy Sunday in November. Getting to practice his badass quick with his partner in crime? Working with the greatest high school coach ever? And most importantly, _not_ having to do homework? Count him in.

But Hinata should've known it was too good to be true.

He started to feel wary when he felt light rain droplets on his nose as he was walking over to Ukai's with Kageyama. Hinata looked up at the sky; it was _kind of_ cloudy out, and there were some really dark clouds in the distance, but there was no way they would come any closer. After all, this was supposed to be the one Sunday Hinata got to play volleyball.

Of course, not even five minutes later, the slight sprinkles turned into an outright downpour. Hinata let out the largest groan he had groaned in a long while. Kageyama groaned along with him because he understood that this _sucked_.

This was how the two of them found themselves at the movies, watching the newest Godzilla movie even though none of them were really that into Godzilla. Hinata angrily slurped his large soda while Kageyama shoved fistfuls of popcorn into his mouth while they waited for the previews to start. Hinata yelled at Kageyama to quit hogging the popcorn, and Kageyama yelled at Hinata to quit drinking that damn soda so loudly because it was starting to piss him off.

Hinata was about to throw another jab at Kageyama when he realized he had just drunken a _lot_ of soda, and the movie was going to start in two minutes, and he really, really had to pee.

He shoved the soda and box of candy he had been saving for later into Kageyama's lap and stood up. "Bakageyama, save my seat. I'm gonna pee!"

Kageyama glared at him. "Dumbass! The movie's about to start!"

"So?" Hinata said.

"So go after the movie ends!"

Kageyama tried to push Hinata back into his seat, but Hinata ducked, narrowly dodging Kageyama's hands, and ran towards the exit of the theater. It was one of the perks of being a shrimp, being able to slip by people like that. Hinata stuck his tongue out at Kageyama before dashing out the door.

But instead of the normal mad dash to the toilet he usually pulled, Hinata walked there at a much slower pace. Knowing his luck today so far, with the sudden storm ruining his day of volleyball training, Hinata suspected something bad might happen. After all, nothing good ever came out of going to the bathroom in public places. He thought nothing could top running into the Grand King, Seijoh's ace, _and_ Ushiwaka at the same time, but who knew what could happen? Hinata shivered.

His fears were confirmed when he ran into said Seijoh's ace standing directly outside the door. His arms were crossed, and he was grumbling what Hinata imagined were obscenities under his breath. He looked really, really pissed off.

When the ace's eyes locked onto his, Hinata froze. He wanted volleyball to be a part of his day today, but not like this. Why did _he_ have to be here out of all people? Would this be a repeat of last time?

"Hey! #10!" Iwaizumi shouted. Hinata let out a loud squeak and instantly felt his face heat up. Iwaizumi ignored his reaction. "You should probably use another bathroom," he said.

Hinata knew Iwaizumi probably meant no harm by calling out to him. He told himself that there was probably a long line inside, or maybe all of the stalls ran out of toilet paper or something. But the bathroom jitters soon took over and all rational thinking left Hinata's mind. He needed to get out of there as fast as he could. So in a knee-jerk reaction, he did the exact opposite of what he was just advised to do. He rushed by before Iwaizumi had the chance to acknowledge him any further, bolting into the bathroom and not looking back.

Hinata should've listened to the ace's warning.

If his heart had been beating fast when he saw Iwaizumi outside, it was now thumping so hard it might break free from his chest.

Unfortunately for him, after opening the door and turning to the right, he was greeted with the sight of Ushiwaka and the Grand King shooting daggers into each other's eyes. Or, well, Oikawa was shooting daggers into Ushiwaka's eyes at the very least.

Hinata almost pissed his pants then and there. He nearly screamed again, but he quickly slapped a hand to his mouth, because the last thing he wanted to happen was for them to know he had just walked in on them.

 _This is ridiculous_ , he thought. He's beaten _both_ of them in his previous matches, he shouldn't still be terrified of running into them. He hated how he's so tiny compared to them, and how he has to crane his neck up as high as he possibly can just to see their heads. He bitterly thought that if he were as big as them, he wouldn't be as frightened as he is right now.

Scared out of his mind, all he can do is hide behind the wall and peek his head in, listening in on their argument and praying it will be over soon. Hinata could only make out bits and pieces of what they're talking about at first, but soon he realized they were talking about where they've decided to attend university.

"Damn it, Ushiwaka-chan! We're not at a tournament. We're in a fucking movie theater bathroom." Oikawa huffed. "I don't have the time or the patience to deal with you today."

Ushijima stared back at Oikawa, unfazed. "You're wasting your potential. I highly advise you to reconsider your decision."

Oikawa cocked his head, shooting Ushijima a nasty glare. "Why? Because you're the strongest?" He scowled. "I've told you again and again. I didn't regret my decision to go to Seijoh, and I don't regret my choice of university now."

"You will, though," Ushijima said, calm and confident. "When you fail to defeat us yet again, you will wish you chose the right path."

Oikawa stayed silent for a moment. But only for a moment, because he soon burst out in laughter. "Ha! You aren't listening to a word that's coming out of my mouth!" he spat. "You're never going to improve if you keep thinking that way, Ushiwaka-chan." Hinata could practically taste the venom dripping from Oikawa's words.

Ushijima didn't reply. Instead, he looked at Oikawa with a puzzled expression as if he could never do any wrong.

Oikawa continued. "You know, sometimes I wish you weren't all that. It'd do you good to shrink a few inches, lose a little power in your spikes. Maybe then your ego wouldn't be as big as you."

Suddenly, Hinata heard a loud 'CRACK!'. His vision turned white as a giant lightning strike came out of nowhere, illuminating the room in the brightest light Hinata could ever imagine. His feet felt lighter, his mind got hazier, and soon all his senses blended together into one jumbled mess that he couldn't possibly explain with words.

And then everything went to black.

 

* * *

  

When Hinata opened his eyes, the first thing he realized was that he wasn't in the movie theater bathroom anymore. He was in an unfamiliar room, wrapped in a comforter way too small for his liking. The room was tiny with only enough room for a bed, desk, and dresser. It was tidy, except for a couple of volleyballs on the floor by the desk. It was a sharp contrast compared to the giant heap of clothes that made up the bulk of Hinata's own room. Now that he thought about it, the room was almost like his older cousin's dorm room, from what he could remember from that one time visited her at university.

"This is weird," Hinata said, thinking out loud. But then he heard a voice about two octaves lower than his normal voice. And to his complete shock, it was coming out of his own mouth. He yelped, then slammed his mouth shut with his left hand because the same baritone voice just came out of his mouth again.

Then Hinata looked down at the humongous hand that was now resting on his face and nearly cried.

_What the fuck._

He threw the comforter off of himself, only to find long, muscular legs attached to his body that were definitely _not_ his. His eyes trailed further up the mysterious (his?) body. He was wearing his favorite pale blue shirt with the volleyball mascot on it. The only problem was that it couldn't be _his_ shirt, because it was a couple sizes too big for him to wear and not look like a complete loser in. He lifted the shirt up and was greeted with visible abs. He used his monster hands to feel his biceps; they were like twice the diameter of his normally twiggy arms.

_What._

_The._

_FUCK._

Hinata climbed out of bed and the room instantly became about ten times smaller when he stood up. He reached his hand up towards the ceiling, and to his surprise, he could actually touch it with the tips of his fingers. Without tiptoeing! It was surreal and completely freaky at the same time. Was he dreaming? Or did he actually become some kind of alternate superhuman Hinata Shouyou overnight?

He spotted a tall mirror mounted on the wall next to the dresser. He walked over to it, stepping slowly, but quickly at the same time because those long legs of his carried him much further than he was used to.

And when Hinata saw what was in front of the mirror, his world ended.

To his horror, it wasn't a freakishly big version of himself that was staring back at him.

It was Ushijima Wakatoshi.

This time Hinata actually did scream. Ushijima screamed on the other side of the mirror along with him.

Hinata ran over to the bed, grabbed the comforter, and threw it over the mirror. If he saw another glimpse of Ushiwaka, he might actually--no, would most certainly--die. He scrambled over to the lone window in the room, yanked up the blinds, and saw the vast soccer fields of Shiratorizawa Academy in the background. He could see the same horses he had been so enamored with that first day he visited the school in the stables off to the side. He could also see the volleyball team's fancy coach bus further in the distance. Technically _his_ team's fancy coach bus.

 _Oh shit_ , Hinata thought. He was actually in a dorm. (He didn't dare say the words out loud, or else he would be greeted with that deep voice--Ushiwaka's voice--again) He ran over to the door, locking it shut before any concerned floormates could come in to check on the him, since he was 99% certain that Ushiwaka didn't make a habit of hollering at the top of his lungs very often. Hinata shivered at the thought of any Shiratorizawa players walking in right now. Especially that giant lizard man with the spiky red hair. _No_ , he thought. He was going to stay put, at least until he could figure out a game plan.

He spotted a cell phone sitting right in the center of the desk next to the bed he just woke up in. How did he miss that? Well, that wasn't too important. What _was_ important was that he needed to call someone. His mom, Yachi, Daichi, even Kageyama if he really had to. But why would they have any reason to help Ushijima Wakatoshi out of all people? And more importantly: what were their numbers again? Hinata mentally slapped himself when he realized he didn't memorize _anyone's_ phone number except for his own.

 _Okay. Whatever_. That wasn't too big of a deal. There must have been at least one connection he and Ushijima had in common in his contacts. And if that failed, he could always call the police. They'd be able to do something. Right? _Right?_

Hinata picked up the phone and turned it on. The background was a picture of a little Ushiwaka wearing a miniature version of the same shirt Hinata was currently wearing, along with a big man. Probably his father. Hinata's jaw dropped. _Is that really Japan?!_ _He's soooooo tiny! (And adorable!)_

He violently shook his head, snapping himself out of it. He needed to focus on the task at hand: accessing that phone. He was in the process of trying to guess what Ushiwaka's password would be when the phone automatically unlocked with the fingerprint scanner. Hinata sighed a breath of relief.

He pressed a few buttons and found himself scrolling through Ushijima's contacts. Unfortunately, nearly all of them were either people Hinata didn't know or players from the Shiratorizawa team. He recognized their names from the match back in October. He also saw the Grand King in there for whatever reason, but he would definitely _not_ be calling him, especially after seeing how upset he was at Ushiwaka earlier.

So Hinata called the only number he knew: his own. His heart raced as the call was dialing. What if the normal, shrimpy but peppy, Hinata Shouyou picked up? What would that make him, the person on the other end of the line? Certainly not Hinata, because the reflection he saw in the mirror told him he was Ushijima Wakatoshi.

The phone stopped ringing. Hinata almost wished he could stop time, just so he wouldn't have to hear who was on the other end. And time did still, if only for a second, because the phone became silent for what felt like an eternity.

Either that, or the other person just wasn't replying.

Hinata piped up. "U-Ushiwaka?"

"Hinata Shouyou?" came the reply. It wasn't really a question as so much as a statement.

Hinata had never heard his own voice in such a serious tone before. It was so serious, so formal, so... unlike him. He blinked. There was only one person who'd ever called Hinata by his full name. It _had_ to be him, as crazy as it sounded.

"Ushiwaka, is that you?" he asked.

"Yes."

"OH, THANK GOD!" Hinata screamed. He was certain his neighbors on either side of the dorm were _definitely_ concerned by this point, but he didn't care. "Ushiwaka, what's going on? Why did I wake up in your body?!"

"I could ask you the same question."

Hinata could feel his cheeks heating up. "W-well yeah! Of course!" he shouted. He shouldn't be feeling this flustered talking to what was essentially himself. "I-I just want to go back to normal!"

"As do I," Ushijima said, maintaining his composure. "It is unfortunate we found ourselves in these circumstances, but you and I must work together to figure out a solution to our predicament."

Hinata took a moment to comprehend what Ushijima just said.

_You and I?_

_Work together?_

He never expected to hear those words stringed together in the same sentence in a million years. But he wasn't going to let this opportunity to put their minds together to waste, especially if it meant they might have a shot at returning to their proper bodies.

 

* * *

  

Hinata thanked the body-switching gods that this Monday was a holiday, which meant no classes and no volleyball practice. Or, to be more exact, no classes and no volleyball practice at Shiratorizawa when he had no idea how Ushijima went about his day. He also thanked the body-switching gods that Ushijima felt just as uncomfortable going about his day at Karasuno, because by some miracle, he agreed to meet Hinata to discuss how their next course of action.

They decided to meet up at the Burger King by Hinata's house because 1) it was the only food joint within a reasonable distance from Hinata's house and 2) absolutely nobody would expect to find Ushijima Wakatoshi hanging out at a Burger King of all places. It was the perfect place for them to figure out just _what_ was going on without having to worry about maintaining their respective personas. They'd be free from judgment, save from the Burger King employees who could really care less.

When Hinata walked into the restaurant, he was hit with the smell of grease and junk food; it made him a little queasy. The next thing he noticed was that his gargantuan stomach was violently growling because he hadn't had a single thing to eat since he woke up in this nightmare. He didn't dare go down to the Shiratorizawa dining hall (which was apparently a thing) for food. It was too risky; he would definitely run into someone Ushijima knew, and then panic and draw even more attention to himself than before. So he practically ran over to the cashier to place an order for a Whopper because he really didn't care what went into his stomach right now, as long as _something_ went into his stomach.

Before Hinata could place his order, he felt something tugging lightly at the hem of his shirt. He turned around and nearly had a heart attack when he saw his shrimpy self looking back at him with a serious expression. Only it wasn't him; it was Ushijima Wakatoshi in Hinata Shouyou's body, even if no one else besides the two of them would be able to tell.

"What are you doing?" Ushijima asked.

He was wearing the same pale blue shirt with the volleyball mascot that Hinata woke up in, this time in Hinata's correct size. He honestly didn't look like someone inhabiting a stranger's body.

Hinata looked at Ushijima with a blank stare. "Getting food?"

Ushijiima didn't look too impressed. "You're thinking of ordering the cheeseburger, aren't you?"

"Um. Yes?" Hinata's stomach let out another low growl.

"I would advise against it," Ushijima said.

Hinata's jaw dropped. "What?! Why not?"

"It would be violating the diet plan required of all Shiratorizawa players."

Hinata blinked. "Diet plan?" he asked. Sure, he didn't eat junk food _all_ the time, but he never policed what went into his stomach to this extent.

"A volleyball player must nourish himself with only the most nutritional of foods," Ushijima said. "It is one of the many requirements we must follow to keep our bodies in peak condition."

Hinata frowned, despite almost instinctively knowing that the first words Ushijima would say to him in person would be a lecture. But he did have a point. "Then what do you expect me to order?" he asked.

"This," Ushijima said. He pointed to the #6 option, the grilled chicken salad. "Plain with no dressing."

Hinata groaned, and his stomach growled along with him as he walked up to the cash register to order his not-cheeseburger.

After ordering their food, Hinata and Ushijima grabbed a booth towards the back of the restaurant and made idle small talk about their experiences so far today. Hinata told Ushijima about how he left Shiratorizawa by shoving himself out the window and climbing down a tree to avoid being seen by Ushijima's floormates. Ushijima told Hinata about his first meeting with Hinata's little sister, and how she laughed when he called her "Little Hinata" because he didn't know her name.

If this bodyswap had any perks, it was that it was a lot easier to talk to Ushijima than Hinata expected. It was probably because Hinata had to look ever so slightly down at him, instead of having to crane his head up just to meet his gaze. Plus, imagining Ushijima's internal reaction whenever he opened his mouth to speak only to hear a pipsqueaked voice come out didn't hurt, either.

But when it came time to discussing how to return to normal, both of them were at a loss at what to say. Hinata picked at his salad, avoiding all of the tomatoes, while Ushijima sipped a bottle of orange juice that was just as orange as the hair on his head. _Hair that should be on MY head,_ Hinata thought. He desperately hoped Ushijima would think of sort of solution to the pickle they were in, because even though they were getting along, he was becoming more and more weirded out every time his eyes met Ushijima's.

From their conversation, they discovered that the last thing both of them remembered before waking up this morning was that they were both in the movie theater bathroom. Hinata told Ushijima about how he walked in on him and Oikawa in the middle of a fight, and how he really had to pee but he really wanted them to leave first because he didn't want them to see him.

Ushijima blinked. "I wasn't fighting with Oikawa," he said.

"But he was so mad at you!" Hinata said.

"Why would he be mad at me? I was just giving him advice."

Hinata couldn't believe he was being completely serious. If Ushijima was _this_ dense, they might actually be stuck like this forever.

"Okay, okay," Hinata said, steering the conversation in another direction. "Maybe there's something we missed. Do you remember anything weird happening? Like, really, really weird!"

Ushijima paused for a moment. "There was a bright flash of light. Loud, too."

Hinata's eyes widened, remembering his own experience in the bathroom. "Like a lightning strike?" he asked.

Ushijima nodded. "Yes."

 _Bingo_. "And did you feel weird when it happened? Like, out of this world weird!"

Ushijima frowned. "I don't remember."

Hinata shoved his hands into his hair and groaned. "Ushiwakaaaa! You've gotta remember! I think this is the moment we switched bodies!"

"I wish I could," he said. Ushijima paused for a moment, and then his eyes became as wide as Hinata's were earlier. "But there might be someone else who is in the same situation."

Hinata slammed a fist on the table. An employee gave them the side-eye, but this was not the time to be worrying about things that didn't matter. "Who?!" he shouted.

"Oikawa Tooru. He was also in the bathroom with us."

Hinata blinked; how had he missed this? Ushijima was right. If anyone could vouch for them _and_ think of a way out of this mess at the same time, it was the Grand King.

"Let's... let's call him then."

Hinata pulled Ushijima's phone out of his pants pocket and opened up his contacts. Then he remembered that this technically wasn't _his_ phone, even though it belonged to the person whose body he was currently occupying. He quickly apologized to Ushijima, who gave him a nod of approval, before pulling up Oikawa Tooru's name. As he pressed "call", he prayed that Oikawa had cooled off enough from yesterday to actually pick up.

When the phone stopped ringing and Hinata could hear a voice on the other end of the line, he couldn't help but clench his fist and shout a small "yes!". Ushijima raised his own fist in support.

"Who is this?" Oikawa asked.

"Ushijima Wakatoshi," Hinata said in his lowest voice. He sounded almost robotic, but Ushijima wasn't giving him any funny looks, so he we went with it.

"I see you _still_ haven't deleted my number," Oikawa said, venom dripping in his voice.

Hinata let out a yelp, then quickly shut his mouth. Ushijima eyed him from across the table with concern.

He turned his attention back to Oikawa. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you wanted me to delete it."

"I hope you're not being serious," Oikawa remarked. "Iwa-chan only gave it to you to piss me off. I've already gotten back at him; you don't want me to go after you, too."

"O-okay," Hinata said, putting on his best brave face.

"So why did you call me today, Ushiwaka-chan? Make it quick because I'm a busy man, you know."

"The lightning strike," Hinata said. "Do you remember the lightning strike from yesterday?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you sure you didn't get spiked in the head with a volleyball or something?"

Hinata's heart sank. Oikawa _had_ to remember their encounter in the bathroom from yesterday. He had to have _some_ idea as to what they could do. If he didn't, how would they get their own bodies back? Would he be doomed to living out the rest of his life as Ushijima Wakatoshi, volleyball prodigy? Well, actually, playing volleyball for the rest of his life sounded pretty sweet. But not like this!

Hinata focused. "No, I'm serious," he said. "There was a big lightning strike in the bathroom yesterday. It was like--" Hinata paused, fighting off the urge to say "GWAM!" or "BAM!". He quickly corrected himself, saying, "--like a bright flash that made the entire room go white."

There was silence at the other end of the line. "Ushiwaka-chan, it wasn't even raining yesterday," Oikawa said.

Hinata heart stopped. "What?" he asked.

"If you actually followed the news instead of stuffing that head of yours with volleyball, you would know that the storms aren't supposed to come in until next weekend."

"No..." Hinata's stomach did a flip, and not in a good way. There was no malice in Oikawa's words, but Hinata had a very bad feeling about them. He took the phone away from his ear and pressed the home button, returning to the main screen. He looked at the date. He wanted to scream when he saw what it was. For whatever sick reason, the body-switching gods decided to turn the date back to November 14, the Sunday before the movies, before any of this happened in the first place.

"Hello? Ushiwaka?" Oikawa said.

Hinata hung up before giving the Grand King a reply, recoiling from the realization. He wanted to die. He wanted the entire world to swallow him up here and then, because anything would be better than having to face Ushijima with the bad news.

"I don't like the expression on your face." Ushijima said.

Hinata gulped. But he had to tell him. "Oikawa-san didn't remember," he said.

Ushijima frowned. "But he was there yesterday. Why wouldn't he remember?"

"Because it didn't happen yesterday."

"What do you mean?" Ushijima asked.

Hinata started sweating. Ushijima must've been just as oblivious as him. He didn't blame him, though. "Ushiwaka, what's the date today?" he asked.

"The 22nd."

Hinata shook his head and showed the date on his phone to Ushijima. When Ushijima saw what that date was, he didn't speak for a long while. Instead he stared at Hinata's half-eaten salad with the expression of a lost child. Hinata told himself he wasn't going to be the first one to speak after the truth came out, but _someone_ had to ask the question both of them were dying to know the answer to.

"Does... does this mean we're stuck like this until next Sunday?"

Ushijima looked up at Hinata. "I see no other alternative," he said.

"What are we supposed to do until then?" Hinata asked. He knew the answer, but he didn't want to be the one to say it.

"We will just have to keep each other company for the next week," Ushijima said, frowning. "It can't be helped."

Hinata imagined himself living out Ushijima's life for the next week. He was a third year, which meant Hinata would be completely helpless when it came to actual school. What if he had an exam or something? And don't even get him started on volleyball. Did he still play, even though the Shiratorizawa third years should've been retired by now? He was Japan, after all.

Then Hinata imagined Ushijima trying to live out Hinata's life. He shoved that thought as far back into his mind as he could.

"How would that even work?!" Hinata shouted.

"We would attend classes in our respective bodies. But during non-school hours, I would like to keep you in my sight at all times. I feel uneasy with someone like you having free reign over my body."

Hinata's jaw dropped; Ushijima was as blunt as ever. There was one important part of Hinata's day he didn't touch on, though: "But what about practice?"

"I will attend your practices in your place," Ushijima said. "And since I am now retired, you will accompany me for the practices that run after school."

Hinata shivered at the thought of Ushijima (technically _him_ , but still) attending Karasuno's practices. Kageyama would be able to live with it because he was Bakageyama. But Tsukishima and his senpai? They'd definitely sense that something was off.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea..." Hinata said.

Ushijima raised an eyebrow. "Not many people have the opportunity to practice with someone of my caliber," he said.

And with those words, all of Hinata's rational thought went straight out the window.

The frown on Hinata's face curved up into a wide grin. "It's a deal!" he said. Hinata shot his hand out. "Let's make this week count!"

Ushijima extended his tiny hand and shook Hinata's own. Their hands were extremely mismatched, to say the least, but their handshakes were firm. Hinata could've sworn he saw the tiniest hint of a smile forming on Ushijima's face.

"Yes. I look forward to learning more about you, Hinata Shouyou," he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the exposition's out of the way, expect shenanigans and unhealthy amounts of fluff  
> (cue evil laughter)
> 
> [come say hi to me on tumblr!](http://courttts.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ushijima's first day at Karasuno goes well in some ways--and horribly wrong in others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who decided to finish this instead of getting a healthy amount of sleep last night

Ushijima woke up wrapped in a mess of sheets like an overstuffed burrito. From what his teammates have told him, he was normally a calm and composed sleeper. But last night, he must have tossed and turned in his sleep fifty times over because it took him a solid minute to untangle himself from the oversized blankets he had managed to trap himself in. As Ushijima came to his senses, his mouth started to water, and he soon realized it was due to the smell of bacon wafting up from the kitchen. He climbed out of bed--a noticeable difference from _stepping_ out of bed like he was used to doing--and prepared himself for the day to come.

Surprisingly, he had come to terms with the fact that he was inhabiting a completely different body relatively quickly. As he brushed his teeth, he examined his bright orange, extremely tousled head of hair. He frowned when he had to tiptoe just to see the entire upper half of his body in the bathroom mirror, and furrowed his eyebrows when he made a high-pitched noise when gargling his throat. Ushijima wondered how it was possible for someone like Hinata Shouyou to be so distinctive, both inside and out, but he wasn't concerned with living his life. After all, it would all be over come next Sunday, or possibly even faster than that if they can research the cause behind this bodyswapping predicament he had found himself in.

When Ushijima walked downstairs, completely packed, and into the kitchen, Hinata's mother was at the stove, finishing up the last of the bacon that Ushijima had smelled in bed. She turned her head and smiled, completely oblivious to the fact that the boy looking back at her was not her real son.

"Good morning, Shouyou!" she said, cheerfully but quietly.

Ushijima greeted her good morning in reply and sat down at the kitchen table, slinging his school bag on the chair he was sitting in. The table was already set, and a big breakfast buffet lay at the center. There was a hot plate of scrambled eggs, perfectly fluffy as opposed to the less-than-appetizing, watery eggs from the dining hall. A tall pile of equally fluffy pancakes lay to the left of it, and to the right was a big plate of crispy bacon.

Besides the fact that he was currently inhabiting a body that wasn't his own, Ushijima's morning had been very pleasant, to say the least. He couldn't remember the last time someone had cooked breakfast especially for him, since he had been living in Shiratorizawa dorms since the beginning of middle school, and his own mother wasn't too keen on cooking herself.

Ushijima bowed before digging in as a genuine sign of gratitude. He put on a rehearsed, cheerful grin and said, "Thank you for the food!"

"You're awfully polite today," Hinata's mother remarked. "You're not trying to weasel something out of me, are you?"

"No reason. The food's just really, really good!" Ushijima said in his peppiest voice. Acting like Hinata Shouyou was still like a foreign language to him, but he felt like he was starting to get the hang of it.

While Ushijima was savoring his home-cooked breakfast, his phone--or more correctly, Hinata's phone--began to buzz. Ushijima and Hinata exchanged phone numbers, but kept the phone of the person whose body they were currently occupying. He pressed the home screen to check who the new message was from: none other than the real Hinata Shouyou.

**[6:03] Hinata:** ushiwakaaaaa i'm so hungry

 **[6:03] Hinata:** wat do i do

 

Ushijima and Hinata had only had their first non-volleyball related conversation just a day ago, and they were already becoming well acquainted with one another. _Like friends?_ Ushijima thought. If someone had told him this at the beginning of the year, he would have snorted in disapproval and dismissed the subject altogether. But then again, if switching bodies was indeed real, anything was possible.

Over the course of yesterday, Hinata had warmed up to Ushijima by talking about volleyball: his experience, his favorite matches, his favorite aspects of the sport, even his preferred brand of volleyball. Hinata's understanding of the sport was still at an unbelievably elementary level, but he actually found himself actively listening to the conversation. It reminded him of how Tendou befriended him back in their first year of high school, words spewing out of his mouth rapid-fire with no chance to reply.

 

 **[6:04] Me:** Go to the dining hall.

 **[6:04] Hinata:** but i dont wanna run into the lizard man!!!!!

 **[6:05] Me:** There are no lizard men at Shiratorizawa.

 **[6:06] Hinata:** duh of course not

 **[6:06] Hinata:** im talking about the really tall dude! the guess monster!

 **[6:07] Hinata:** well not as tall as u but u kno wat i mean

 **[6:08] Hinata:** idk his name

 

Hinata Shouyou himself was an entirely other entity, and Ushijima became more intrigued, and maybe a little concerned for him with every one-sided conversation. He quickly learned that Hinata gave bizarre nicknames for people that had nothing to do with their actual names. For instance, he called Ushijima "Japan", which made absolutely no sense to him. Ushijima thought "Ushiwaka" was a little strange, but at least he could understand it was a portmanteau of his own name. He understood that Hinata was unusual and unfamiliar ever since that day he met him on his daily jog, but he never imagined to think of him as interesting.

Hinata's mom raised her head from the counter where she was prepping Hinata's sister's lunch. "Who are _you_ texting so early in the morning?" she asked, eyes alight with curiosity.

"Just a friend," Ushijima said, looking up from his phone. The word felt so foreign coming out of his own mouth, but it looked like Hinata may actually become one in the near future if they kept this up.

 

 **[6:08] Me:** His name is Tendou.

 **[6:08] Hinata:** yeah!!!!! him!

 **[6:09] Me:** He doesn't wake up until 6:30. If you go now, you can avoid him if you eat quickly.

 **[6:10] Hinata:** YES!!!!!! ur the best!!!!! thanks ushiwaka!!!! ^____^

 **[6:11] Me:** You're welcome.

 

After Ushijima cleaned his plate, he grabbed his bag, laced up his shoes, and mentally prepared himself for his first day as Hinata Shouyou. Before he left the door, Hinata's mother handed him a warm lunchbox, neatly wrapped up in a sack with a perfect knot.

"Have a wonderful day at school, Shouyou," Hinata's mother said. "Don't get yourself into too much trouble!"

"I'll try."

 

* * *

 

Ushijima's route to Karasuno was a thirty-minute bike ride through the mountains. It was mostly uphill, and difficult to see straight because the sun had just peeked over the horizon as he left Hinata's house. As he pedaled his way to school, Ushijima found himself working up a sweat, and his heart was pumping. He wasn't sure if the ride was strenuous because the route itself was challenging, or because Hinata's body didn't possess as much stamina as its own. Either way, he was impressed; the bike ride was of the same intensity as his own warm-ups before practice. He admitted to himself that he may have underestimated Hinata Shouyou when it came to dedication.

During the ride, Ushijima had ample time to think about how the rest of the day would proceed. He was confident in his own ability to impersonate Hinata, but was more concerned about how Hinata would adjust to life at Shiratorizawa. They spent all of yesterday at Hinata's house, studying each other's coursework for the week. Concern began to creep up in the back of Ushijima's mind when their study session ended up consisting of solely teaching Hinata subjects that were two years too advanced for him.

He eventually gave up and wrote out a cheat sheet from what he could remember of his notes from the previous week, and what questions he remembered his teachers asking in class. When Hinata looked at the sheet, he had a blank look on his face that screamed he couldn't comprehend a single word on it. Ushijima shrugged; as long as Hinata didn't deviate from the plan, he should be fine. As for socializing, he told Hinata to reply with simple yes and no answers to any questions, mostly from Tendou. Ushijima was relieved he didn't talk much about subjects other than volleyball, or this might have been much more difficult.

Before he knew it, Ushijima found himself at the front gates of Karasuno High School. He gazed at the sky, and saw that the sun was now completely out, painting the sky a brilliant blue. Ushijima had a feeling that if he thought time had flown quickly on the way to school, it would rocket past him throughout the day.

Ushijima parked his bike on the other side of the school gates, slung his bag around his shoulder, and began his walk to the volleyball clubroom. Karasuno was much smaller than Shiratorizawa, but it felt a lot cozier. It reminded him of the fictional high schools in the manga that Tendou pestered him to read every week. On first glance, the school grounds were empty, not a single student, volleyball player or otherwise, in sight. He craned his head around the school perimeters to see if there was at least a faculty member around, to make sure he wasn't on school grounds when he shouldn't be. As he looked back to the entrance, Ushijima spotted a familiar face walking through the gates.

_Kageyama Tobio._

Hinata had told him that the very first part of the day would be racing Kageyama to the volleyball clubroom. Hinata told him he better not lose, because Hinata currently had a three day winning streak against Bakegeyama, and he wasn't going to let some silly body swap ruin it. Initially, Ushijima thought participating in such an event would be preposterous and childish, but then he realized it would technically still be Hinata doing these things. If he didn't like it, so be it; he didn't have the right to act out of character when there was someone in his body who would be carrying out all of his requests for the week.

Kageyama walked up to Ushijima and stopped just an arm's length in front of him. He stared down Ushijima, and Ushijima stared him back.

He would not lose.

Kageyama twitched. "Dumbass! Why do you look so serious?" he snapped.

Ushijima pointed a single finger at him. "Kageyama Tobio, prepare yourself for defeat."

Kageyama stared at him with a confused expression at first. But then his eyes narrowed, he started gritting his teeth, and clenched his fists. "Like hell I will!" he shouted.

Before Kageyama could finish his sentence, the two of them were making a beeline to the clubroom. Ushijima pumped his arms as hard as he could and moved his feet as quickly as they would take him. To his surprise, he was _fast_. Ushijima remembered the directions clearly: go straight, make a left at the gym, run up the stairs, then finish at the third room from the top of the stairs. He didn't focus on Kageyama and his ear-shattering screaming too early of an hour in the morning. All he could fix is his eyes on was the finish line.

As they exited the stairs and rounded the corner, dashing for the clubroom door, Kageyama was a hair in front of Ushijima. Ushijima's heart was racing as fast as his feet were moving He was _this_ close to beating Hinata's nemesis. There was no way he would let himself lose now.

So he dove for the door.

The next thing Ushijima heard was an angry "DAMN IT!", followed by a loud stomp on the ground. A small smile curved up on Ushijima's lips; he had won. As he got back up on his own two feet, he stuck his tongue out at Kageyama. It seemed like something Hinata would do.

As the rest of the Karasuno players filtered into the clubroom to prepare for morning practice, Ushijima sent a discreet message to Hinata, making sure to conceal the screen so no one could see what he was typing.

 

 **[6:52] Me:** Kageyama had no hope of winning against me.

The reply came back instantaneously. Ushijima scanned the clubroom with the corner of his eye to make sure no one was watching.

**[6:52] Hinata:** wait wat does that mean

 **[6:53] Hinata:** wait a sec

 **[6:53] Hinata:** OMG U ROCK!!!!!!!

 

Ushijima gave himself a mental pat on the back, knowing that his first day in Hinata's body was a success so far. It was different, it was challenging, and it was surprisingly fun. But he would never admit that to anyone, lest he tell Hinata Shouyou out of all people.

 

* * *

 

For a school that had been relatively unknown in the last few years, Karasuno held practices that were almost up to Shiratorizawa's standards. Not even five minutes after he had completed his warm-up stretches with the team, Ushijima was running sprints up and down the hills surrounding the school. He performed laps upon laps of flying falls in the gym until he could feel the beginnings of bruises forming on his forearms, and executed jumping and spiking drills in rapid succession. He was working up a sweat, and it made him wish his own season hadn't prematurely ended so he could continue practicing like this every day. As grueling as this morning was, it felt fulfilling as opposed to studying for university entrance exams that he needed to only barely pass.

After a morning of conditioning, the team held a quick free practice session before adjourning for the school day. From the short time Ushijima had spent on the court with Hinata during the Spring High representative tournament, he knew that he wasn't very good at serves. He was inept at most of the fundamental skills required of any competent volleyball player, to be frank, save for jumping. So Ushijima ran to the opposite side of the court to work on receives, as he thought it would draw the least attention to himself.

Ushijima studied the team as they went about practicing the most basic of serves and wondered how they ever managed to beat his own team. He would need to investigate their playing style further, as he could relay the information back to Shiratorizawa when he was back in his own body. He himself had no use for this knowledge, but his underclassmen could use it to their advantage in the upcoming season.

The scrawny first year--Yamaguchi--with the jump float serve showed some promise. Ushijima noted that he would be able to do so much more with it if he had the proper guidance on how to give the serve just the right amount of spin.

As the ball hovered across the court, Ushijima instinctively received it with an overhand motion, something he thought should be basic knowledge for adept players at the high school level. He was instantly greeted with oooohs and aaaahs from the Karasuno players.

"Hinata! That was amazing!" Yamaguchi shouted from the other side of the court, eyes wide in awe.

Ushijima heard someone jump up from behind him, roughing up his hair with eager hands. "Shouyou!" a voice cheered. Ushijima turned around and saw Karasuno's libero, Nishinoya, grinning. "Looks like you started listening to the best, and it fucking shows!" he said, pointing a thumb to himself.

"I didn't do anything out of the ordinary," Ushijima said.

Nishinoya laughed. "Yeah, maybe if you were one of those stuffy Shiratorizawa losers. But you know what? That was AWESOME and no one can tell you otherwise!"

Ushijima blinked. He wasn't used to being praised for something so.... elementary by his standards.

"Keep at it, buddy, and you might catch up to me one day!" Nishinoya said, slapping him on the back, before turning his attention back to receives.

Ushijima resumed his focus back on observing Karasuno's practice. The only player who had an impressive serve was Kageyama, whose jump serve would eventually rival Oikawa's he could put more precision into it. As he watched Kageyama snap the ball across the court, making a loud noise as it slammed into the ground, Ushijima allowed his love for volleyball to cloud his thoughts for a brief moment: he wanted to receive that.

At the next powerful serve, Ushijima perfectly received the ball on reflex. It soared through the air in a perfect arc before falling to the ground. He could hear ever bounce before it came to rest because the gym became completely silent.

The tall one with glasses--the first year who had blocked his spike at their last match--raised an eyebrow. The little blonde girl looked like she was about to pass out. The one with the buzz cut was muttering swear words under his breath. And Kageyama himself looked like he had the life sucked out of him then and there.

Karasuno's captain was in utter shock, mouth agape. "Hi-Hinata... Holy shit."

Then Ushijima came back to his senses and remembered that he wasn't Ushijima Wakatoshi right now, he was Hinata Shouyou. He was only a first year, and a first year with bad volleyball skills to boot. He quickly thought of an excuse before brushing the entire thing off with a smile. He hoped it looked like a grin more than a grimace.

"I had a really, really big breakfast this morning!" Ushijima shouted, giving Daichi a thumbs-up. He could feel the tips of his ears starting to burn.

No one said a word in reply.

Ushijima was almost certain no one bought his flimsy excuse. But then he felt someone pat him hard on the head. He turned around and found one of the third years smiling back at him. Suga-san, he remembered from Hinata's rundown of the team.

"You should eat that miracle breakfast of yours every day, then!" Suga said, laughing. "Seriously, Hinata. You've been on fire today."

Ushijima laughed along with him. (No matter how many times he had done it so far today, it _still_ felt blasphemous) "Maybe I will!" he said.

After that incident, the remainder of practice went by smoothly. Ushijima made sure to dial back on his volleyball abilities, and no one praised him further. The first year with the glasses (Tsukishima, he reminded himself) made a snide remark about how the previous receives must have been a fluke. _All according to plan_ , Ushijima thought.

At the end of practice, Ushijima checked his phone for the new messages from Hinata that would most definitely be in there.

 

 **[8:05] Hinata:** uggghhhhhh i wish i was at practice rn

 **[8:06] Hinata:** but thats ok cuz we have practice together this afternoon!!!!!

 **[8:06] Hinata:** sooooooooo excited!!!

 **[8:06] Hinata:** this day better fly by fast cuz i cant wait!!!!

 

Ushijima decided against telling Hinata that he made him look like a superhuman to his teammates at morning practice. He chose to reply with something more sensible.

 

 **[8:25] Me:** Yes, it will be interesting.

 **[8:26] Me:** I'm looking forward to it, too.

 

As Ushijima pressed "send", he realized he wasn't lying. He was oddly okay with that fact.

 

* * *

 

The school day itself was easily the most time-staking part of Ushijima's day. Since he was a third year at Shiratorizawa, a notoriously rigorous school, the material that Hinata's first year class was studying was remarkably straightforward. He found himself zoning out, no matter how hard he tried to pay attention. He stared at the fruit fly buzzing around his desk, then to his classmate in the front corner who was discreetly napping behind his opened book. Then he stared at the clock above the door, and cursed that every second that passed by felt like ten.

Ushijima's phone buzzed fifteen minutes into the his second class of the day: English. He pulled it out of this pocket and checked Hinata's (there was no one else it could be) messages almost on reflex. Anything to focus his attention on something other than the drone of his teacher lecturing about a subject he would never pay attention to again next week.

 

 **[10:15] Hinata:** ushiwaka u lied to me!!!!!!! ur bio teacher called on me in front of ur entire class!!!

 **[10:18] Hinata:** he asked me wat mitosis was and i said the powerhouse of the cell

 **[10:20] Hinata:** hint its not T_____T

 

Ushijima frowned at the message, but it wasn't unexpected, and he instantly typed up a reply. He had never texted in class before. Actually, he had never really texted _anyone_ before, just to make casual conversation, other than his father. When his fingers darted across the phone's touchscreen keyboard, his fingers burned in excitement.

 

 **[10:21] Me:** You're thinking of mitochondria, not mitosis. We studied this yesterday.

 

Ushijima looked up, and his teacher was looking back at him with a stern expression on her face, a warning for not paying attention to the notes on the blackboard. He straightened his back, picked up his pencil, and started copying down the notes as before. When Hinata replied a few minutes later, Ushijima felt shocks jolting through his body as he checked his phone once more, directly disobeying his teacher's implicit message.

 

 **[10:25] Hinata:** ooooohhhhhhhhhh oops

 **[10:25] Hinata:** my b

 

Ushijima endured through the remainder of the morning until it was finally lunchtime. At the beginning of the hour, he sent another set of messages to Hinata to remind him of what they went over the previous day.

 

 **[12:05] Me:** How is lunch?

 **[12:07] Me:** Remember, only say "yes" or "no" when Tendou talks to you.

 

It was then that he noticed his stomach was not just grumbling, but growling violently. He didn't even know a boy as tiny as Hinata could have such an appetite. Ushijima pulled out the neat lunchbox Hinata's mother gave him at breakfast, and hoped that whatever she had packed would be palatable. After undoing the bag his lunchbox was wrapped in, Ushijima found a handwritten note on a small index card inside.

 

_Hayashi rice, just as you asked :) Have a wonderful day!_

_Mom_ _♡_

 

Ushijima's fingers lingered at the latch of the lunchbox, and he wondered if this was too good to be true. He opened the box, and found that there was indeed hayashi rice inside, made from scratch. It was still warm thanks to the insulated container, and it looked absolutely delicious. When he took the first bite into his favorite dish, his taste buds started singing.

Ushijima thought back to the note, and definitely did not remember requesting hayashi rice for lunch, no matter how much he like the dish. In this situation, the only person who could have done such a thing was Hinata. He remembered telling the first year about his favorite food. But it was over quick small talk while they were going over classwork, and it was never brought up again.

He was confused why Hinata would do something like this for someone who he considered a rival, another opponent to be crushed on the volleyball court. Ushijima tried to think of an ulterior motive, but if he was being honest with himself, there probably wasn't one to begin with. He decided he wouldn't question it, and be grateful he had at least one thing that was pleasant during this monotonous school day.

While Ushijima was savoring his lunch, two of his classmates approached his desk. He frowned when it was apparent they had every intention of striking up a conversation with him.

"Yo, Hinata!" one of them called out. "We saw you texting in English. Mad props."

"Was it a girl?" the other one asked, mouth curved up into a sly grin.

"No," Ushijima said. He was confused; he didn't see any recent text messages from any girls on Hinata's phone, except for a group message between him, Kageyama, and the little blonde manager.

"Oh, come on," Hinata's classmate said. "Not even a crush?"

"Yeah seriously," the other classmate added. "It's gotta be a chick."

"It's not, though." Ushijima looked up at his classmates with a straight face. "Why would I need to text a girl if it's not for volleyball?"

Hinata's classmates howled with laughter at Ushijima's response. They added in a few more teasing remarks about being a jokester and a volleyball fiend before roaming across the classroom to chat up a different group of classmates.

Ushijima gave Hinata's classmates a blank stare, then resumed what he had been doing previously. He scarfed down the rest of his food, then left the classroom before anyone else could approach him for another unnecessary conversation. He had looked forward to eating his lunch in peace. Obviously this classroom wasn't the most optimal location for that, because Hinata attracted unheard amounts of attention even when he wasn't actually Hinata.

 

* * *

 

The vending machines in the courtyard were a much more enjoyable place for Ushijima to spend the remainder of his lunch hour. There wasn't a single obnoxious classmate or nosy teacher in sight. Ushijima sat down at a nearby bench--in peace--and stared at the milk cartons on the vending machine, not knowing where else to place his gaze. He looked down at his body, then wondered if Hinata would grow to a respectable height if he just drank milk. There had been none at the breakfast table, even though his coaches emphasized that it should be an essential part of any athlete's diet. Ushijima opened up his phone and scrolled through his messages from Hinata. He wondered if Tendou was giving him any grief over at Shiratorizawa.

"Oi, what are you doing?" a familiar voice called.

Ushijima looked up and Kageyama was staring at him, milk carton in hand. Kageyama slurped the last of his beverage, not taking his eyes off of Ushijima, then crushed the carton in his hand. Ushijima stared back at Kageyama with a blank expression. He wondered if Kageyama was angry at him for showing him up this morning, but then the first year spoke up abruptly.

"Um. So, you want me to toss to you?" Kageyama asked.

Ushijima looked at him for another second, then nodded his head. He had wanted to spend the rest of his lunch alone, but he supposed he didn't mind company if it meant volleyball was involved.

The two of them walked over to the now-vacant gymnasium and pulled a basket of volleyballs from the supply closet. The net was still set up from morning practice. Kageyama gave Ushijima a nod before tossing the first of many balls up, and Ushijima jumped up to spike it into the ground, despite running on pure instinct. Ushijima discovered that he must have retained Hinata's muscle memory because he was able to instantly sync up to Kageyama's tosses, despite not having practiced with him this morning.

Ushijima was almost jealous that Hinata had a partner who coordinated with him so flawlessly. He imagined Oikawa might have filled that role for him in another lifetime. He would've liked it to become a reality in university, but that was life. He couldn't force someone to find him agreeable, no matter how hard he tried--a stark opposite to Hinata's interactions with his peers, from the few encounters he had so far today.

Kageyama picked up the last ball from the basket, quickly tossed along the net with pinpoint accuracy, and Ushijima spiked to the ground with just as much power as when they first started. They proceeded to start picking up the balls scattered across the gymnasium before the end of the hour approached.

"Hey," Kageyama said, teeth gritted.

Ushijima turned his head. "Yes?"

"About this morning..." Kageyama stuttered as he tried to form coherent sentences. For a moment, Ushijima was concerned that the first year was ill. He wondered if he should take him to the school nurse before heading off to his next class.

"Your receive... from my serve..." Kageyama started sweating; his face turned slightly blue. "It was... n-nuff..." Ushijima blinked as he watched Kageyama strain himself. "No... it was n-nice."

It took Ushijima a few seconds to realize Kageyama was complimenting him in a truly bizarre way, because he looked like he was going to pass out any second now.

Ushijima thought a deeply about how Hinata would react to something like this. He settled on an well-placed, but harmless jab.

He grinned from ear to ear. "Maybe that serve of yours need more practice then, Bakageyama!" he said, remembering the nickname at the last moment.

"Shut up, dumbass! YOU'RE the one who needs more practice!" Kageyama barked. He turned on his heel and began to storm out of the gym, stomping loudly with each step. With his back turned, Ushijima internally patted himself on the back. _Hinata would be proud of this one_ , he thought. He made a mental note to tell him about Kageyama's compliment later at afternoon practice.

When Kageyama opened the door, he turned around and gave Ushijima a scowl. "Hurry up, dumbass. We're going to be late to class!"

Ushijima nodded, putting on his widest and cheekiest grin. "Coming, coming!" he shouted, running to catch up to Kageyama. As the day had progressed, it was getting easier and easier to impersonate Hinata's many quirks.

 

* * *

 

By the beginning of afternoon practice, Ushijima still hadn't received a reply from Hinata. He sent him another text before running to the circle of his temporary teammates performing warm-up stretches in the middle of the gymnasium.

 

 **[4:02] Me:** Are you coming to practice?

 

As he ran laps around the gym, played in two-on-two practice sets, and performed flying falls when he intentionally lost, Ushijima couldn't help but think that the boy who was currently inhabiting Ushijima Wakatoshi's body should be there, too. At every water break, he stepped outside the gym to check his phone in the event that Hinata texted him back. Each time he was greeted with a blank screen that was missing the message from the person he wanted to hear back from most.

Ushijima felt uneasy, and it felt eerily similar to the emotions he felt during the Karasuno vs. Shiratorizawa match. Like things weren't going the way they were supposed to be going. During his third break, he sent Hinata another text.

 

 **[5:01] Me:** Hinata, is everything okay?

 

As he turned off his phone, Ushijima felt a tap on his shoulder. It was light and brief, unlike the hearty nudges he had received from Tanaka and Nishinoya, or the aggressive shoves from Kageyama. He raised his head and was greeted with concerned eyes from Karasuno's manager. She possessed an untouchable sense of beauty; she reminded him of the delicate models from the clothing ads in Tendou’s Shounen Jump manga. He let himself think for a quick second, then remembered her name: Kiyoko-san.

"Hinata-kun, is everything all right?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Ushijima said. "Thank you for asking, Kiyoko-san."

Kiyoko pursed her lips. Her sharp eyes narrowed as if she could see straight through Ushijima's empty gesture.

"Hitoka-chan is worried about you, too. You haven't been acting like yourself all day."

Karasuno’s third year manager didn’t stick out at all during morning practice, always off to the side taking notes or restocking water bottles without speaking a single word, unlike her more neurotic first year counterpart. But Ushijima could tell the entire team deeply respected her, even though he had only been present for one and a half practices to date. He wondered if having a female manager at Shiratorizawa would motivate the team to work harder.

Ushijima felt compelled to give her an honest answer. Maybe it was another side effect of being in Hinata’s body, as he felt hypnotized when she looked at him with those piercing, but all-knowing eyes.

"There's... there's someone I'm concerned about," he confessed. "And I have no way of contacting them except in person."

Kiyoko's gaze softened. "They must mean a lot to you if you're thinking about them over volleyball."

Ushijima frowned. "Not really. I just don't want him to get into any unnecessary trouble."

Kiyoko gave him a coy smile. "In any case, you should go find him, then," she said. "I'll tell the team you weren't feeling well."

"But I look fine," Ushijima said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She winked, placing her index finger to her lips. "Don't worry. They'll listen to me."

Before Ushijima could refute her statement, Kiyoko gave him a gentle push out of the gymnasium, toward the school gates where his bike was parked. To his surprise, his feet kept walking in that direction, away from the volleyball net where he _should_ be walking to.

Ushijima didn’t know what was getting into himself. He had never skipped a volleyball practice in his life, outside of illness and injury. He declined invitations to hang out with his classmates after school, stayed home when his family went on their annual summer vacations, and even turned down dates, just to spend an extra couple hours in front of the net everyday.

It wasn’t that he liked going to practice everyday. They were grueling, both physically and mentally, leaving his body aching and his mind exhausted whenever he left the gymnasium at the end of the day. They were a necessary evil, mandatory conditioning and drills he needed to perform in order to improve his ability as a volleyball player. In order to play--and win--in tournaments, he needed to push his body to the limit with every drill, every practice match.

But in the short time Ushijima spent with Hinata in person, all of their conversations eventually led back to volleyball. Hinata went into great detail about every single member on his team, and made Ushijima do the same. He talked about how he was so excited to play with not just one of the best, the best, and that he’d beat him again once they’d return to their normal bodies. He rambled on about how he would get to see how awesome his famous quick strike was, and how cool his team was. And after evening practice, they would pester Daichi until he broke down and bought everyone meat buns--the best meat buns in the prefecture. Ushijima didn’t know where Hinata was now, but it certainly wasn’t where he wanted to be.

At the base of the hill, he passed by a small convenience store: the Sakanoshita Shop, he read upon closer inspection. Then he remembered some of Hinata’s classmates talking about how they were going to go grab food here at lunchtime, and how their meat buns were to die for. He paused for a brief moment, long enough to abandon his initial plan of going straight to Shiratorizawa, and walked inside. He purchased two meat buns, one for Hinata and one for himself, and carefully placed them deep into his bag so they wouldn't get cold.

It was the least he could do for Hinata. Despite how unlikely, how improbable this entire fiasco that he found himself in was, Ushijima found himself relating to the small middle blocker who subverted his expectations at his final high school match.

 

* * *

 

Ushijima arrived at Shiratorizawa in twenty two minutes flat. With classes out of session, the school grounds were mostly empty, save for students participating in their after school clubs. The students who commuted to school had already left for the day, while those staying on campus had most likely retired to their dorms for the evening. Ushijima pulled out his phone to check for messages, and any indication of where Hinata could be located.

**[5:40] Hinata:** OMG I GOT DETENTION

 **[5:40] Hinata:** ur science teacher caught me txting u and took away ur phone im sooooo sorry

 **[5:42] Hinata:** sooooo practice is prob already over

 **[5:42] Hinata:** booooooooo

 **[5:42] Hinata:** but i can meet up with u somewhere n we can hang out!!!

 **[5:43] Hinata:** i wanna hear all about ur day :D

 **[5:43] Hinata:** where r u???

 

Ushijima was about to text him he had just arrived at Shiratorizawa when his phone buzzed yet again. He felt eerily uneasy when he read the contents of the new message.

 

 **[5:56] Hinata:** dont kill me but i may have done something horrible

 

His stomach dropped. Ushijima parked his bike near the school entrance, then hastily walked towards his dorm, the location he decided to scout first.

"Hey! Wakatoshi!" a shrill voice called out from behind.

 _Perfect,_ Ushijima thought. If he could hear Tendou's voice, Hinata would be nearby. He turned around and confirmed his suspicions.

Hinata--in Ushijima Wakatoshi's body--was standing nervously at the school gates. Next to him was another familiar face, lively as ever.

Tendou waved at him, both hands flailing in the air. "Wakatoshiiii! Over here!" he shouted.

Ushijima wondered why Hinata wasn't responding to Tendou's shouting. Then he realized Tendou was calling out to _him_. He was calling out his own name, when he was in Hinata Shouyou's body.

He took a tentative step towards Hinata and Tendou, then started walking more quickly when Tendou refused to stop yelling at him to move those tiny legs of his faster.

Tendou eyed Ushijima, first up, then down. He stooped down to talk to him face-to-face. "I can't tell you how great this feels, getting to stare down at you instead of looking up," he said, almost singing.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ushijima said.

"You can't fool me, Wakatoshi. Shrimpy over here," Tendou said, pointing to Hinata, who was outright petrified, "spilled the beans about everything." He paused, raising his eyebrows. "Only he's not really shrimpy anymore, is he?"

Ushijima narrowed his eyes, looking at Hinata with disapproval. Hinata looked back at him with eyes that were pleading him to spare his life.

He turned his attention back to Tendou. "How did you find out?" he asked.

"It's simple," Tendou said, tilting his head. "Shrimpy was acting off today, so I asked him. And he told me." He raised his arm up and patted Hinata on the head.

"I'M SORRY!" Hinata shouted. "He asked me if I was an alien in your body and then it... it just came out! I couldn't help myself!"

Ushijima sighed. "Well, there's no point in apologizing now," he said. He turned to Tendou. "I'm counting on you to keep this between the three of us."

Tendou grinned. "No worries, Wakatoshi. Your secret's safe with me."

"Good," Ushijima replied, nodding. The entire situation had diffused itself much more quickly than he had expected.

Tendou craned his head up to look Hinata in the eyes, who jumped in shock. "Now that _that's_ out of the way, how about a real tour of Shiratorizawa, Shrimpy-kun? You seem like the kinda guy who likes trying new things."

By this point, Ushijima was beginning to feel slightly irritated. He had planned to spend the rest of his evening with Hinata, _alone_. Not with the company of a certain prying individual.

"Tendou," he warned.

Tendou ignored him, keeping his focus on Hinata. "You're a much funner Wakatoshi than Wakatoshi. We'll have a blast. I'll show you the cool dorms! And we can bother Semisemi together--"

"Hinata already has plans for tonight," Ushijima declared, a little louder than he should have.

Tendou stopped in his tracks. Color rushed back to Hinata's face, as his fear was replaced with sheer confusion. "Ehh?" they said in unison.

"Hinata..." Ushijima needed to make up something on the spot. And quick. "Hinata and I will be spending the night at his house. It is far too risky to let him stay in the dorms. Someone could discover our secret."

There was no telling if Hinata or his family would be okay with that, but it was too late to go back now. Ushijima eyes met Hinata's. "Right, Hinata?"

Hinata blinked. "Erm... Yeah." He paused. "Y-yeah! That should be okay!"

Ushijima nodded. "Then it's settled. Tendou, you should be taking your leave now."

"Aww, you're no fun," Tendou pouted. He shot a glance at Hinata, then pointed a sharp finger at him. "But tomorrow, I'm officially taking him under my wing. Consider this your warning, Shrimpy-kun!"

Ushijima and Hinata began their walk out of Shiratorizawa. For someone whose day most like went horribly wrong, Hinata didn't look too distraught. Ushijima was glad. Then he remembered the meat buns sitting snugly in his bag, long forgotten since the incident with Tendou, and informed Hinata.

Hinata stared at Ushijima, eyes wide, mouth agape. "A meat bun? For _me_?"

Ushijima could see traces of drool forming at the corner of Hinata's lips. He hoped Hinata went to the dining hall for lunch as he directed him to.

Ushijima nodded. "Yes. Because we weren't able to go after practice today."

Hinata smiled from ear to ear. "That's AWESOME!" he shouted, several decibels too loud for Ushijma's ears. "Thank you, Ushiwaka!"

Ushijima looked around to see if anyone had heard Hinata's outburst. Or, as everyone else would see it, Ushijima Wakatoshi's outburst. He spotted Tendou poorly hidden behind a thin tree, cackling.

He nudged Hinata hard. "Tendou is still watching us," he said, voice low and quiet.

Hinata involuntarily put a hand over his mouth, letting out a soft "eep!". "Sorry!" he said, almost apologetically.

"We can eat them once we leave the school grounds," Ushijima said. Hinata nodded in reply.

Ushijima turned around one last time, and allowed himself to break character, if just for a second, to give Tendou the sternest glare he could manage. He didn't know what torture Tendou had subjected Hinata to earlier in the day, but he wasn't going to let it ruin the rest of their evening together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh my god this rambled on for a bit. Props to you if you read till the end. Hopefully the next chapter won't be as long!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata thinks a night at his own home will give him a break from the craziness of his day so far. Unfortunately for Hinata, it's just a thought.

After a quick phone call to Hinata’s mother, Ushijima confirmed that it would be okay for Hinata to stay the night. It sounded weird hearing Ushijima grant him permission to stay at his own house, but Hinata rolled with it. Out of all the strange things that had happened today, this was near the bottom of the list.

They went back to Ushijima’s dorm and shut the door behind them. Hinata opened up Ushijima’s dresser and quickly stuffed some clothes into one of Ushijima’s duffel bags, embroidered with Shiratorizawa’s letters in purple thread. He shoved a pair of boxers printed with tiny volleyballs into the bag, and tried to keep a straight face. He had burst into laughter when he first saw them on the first day of the bodyswap (which seemed like _ages_ ago), and he hated himself for it, but it was still funny now.

Ushijima spoke up abruptly. “Hinata,” he said, “I understand if you would prefer to stay here for the night.”

Hinata looked up at Ushijima. He had a grim expression on his face.

“No, I think it’s a great idea!” Hinata said. He pursed his lips and looked away sheepishly. “Plus, I… I think I’ve had enough of Tendou for today.”

He had no idea how Ushijima did it. It was like having someone who pestered him as much as Kageyama, someone who was as cunning as Sugawara, and someone who got under his skin as much as Tsukishima bundled up into a single nightmare of a person. He thought Tendou’s nonstop conversations would be limited to just lunch hour, but they continued into every break throughout the day. Even Ushijima’s scary teammate’s (Semi was his name, he thought?) efforts to call him out went by unnoticed.

Ushijima gave him a momentary stare, then nodded his head in understanding. “Shall we get going, then?”

Hinata grinned. “Let’s go!”

They snuck out of Ushijima’s dorm before anyone would be able to flag them down. Ushijima insisted on being the one to bike home, since he was the one who roped Hinata into this in the first place. Hinata couldn’t see how this was going to work out, but he didn’t feel the need fight it.

He slung his small duffel bag across his shoulder and hopped on the back seat of his bike. With their height difference, he was still an entire head taller than Ushijima. He had already been in Ushijima’s body for the good part of two days, but seeing over people’s heads still felt fresh every time it happened. Smiling smugly, Hinata instinctively rested his chin on top of Ushijima’s head of orange hair.

“I would prefer if you didn’t do that,” Ushijima said.

Hinata’s face burned, and he let out that small “eep!” that wasn’t fitting coming out of the mouth of someone of Ushijima’s stature. “Sorry!” he shouted. He laughed nervously. “I couldn’t help myself.”

Ushijima dismissed him swiftly. “We should get going. Your mother is probably wondering where you are.”

Hinata nodded in relief. If it was Kageyama in this situation instead of Ushijima, he would’ve been murdered by now. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

Hinata put his hands around Ushijima’s waist, not knowing where else to place them. Ushijima began pedalling, and in no time, they were on their way back to Hinata’s house. Hinata looked up at the sky; it was a mix of vibrant oranges, deep reds, and pale purples. This entire scenario would’ve fit right into a shoujo manga, if it wasn’t freaking Ushijima Wakatoshi he was holding onto.

With the pace they were going at, however, they wouldn’t be back until midnight. A young woman on a jog with her dog, leash in hand, began to approach them from behind. She waved at them, and her dog gave a friendly bark, before speeding by. Hinata waved back weakly.

“You’re going so slow, Ushiwaka,” Hinata said, “Put some effort into it!”

“I would,” Ushijima said, continuing to pedal at a snail’s pace, “But your weight makes it difficult to move at a reasonable speed.”

Hinata snorted and lightly punched Ushijima’s arm; the bike slightly wobbled. “Did you just call yourself fat?”

“No. We are going nowhere because your body is weak.”

Hinata’s jaw dropped. “Ushiwakaaaa!”

He temporarily forgot that he was in a body twice the size of his own, and started shaking Ushijima with both of his hands, as if he were immovable. The bike swayed left, then right. Then it swayed left again, and Hinata’s heart shot out of his chest because he realized he made a horrible mistake.

He and Ushijima plummeted to the ground in a spectacular crash.

When Hinata opened his eyes, his bike was on its side and Ushijima was face-first in the dirt. Ushijima got himself off the ground and stood on his own two feet with a frown on his face. Hinata prayed that his life would be spared.

“My bad,” Ushijima said, brushing the dirt off his clothing, “I shouldn’t have insisted on being in front. It would be more efficient if you were the one pedaling.”

Hinata blinked at first. Then he sighed in relief, realizing he wasn’t going to receive a menacing, but well-deserved lecture. When volleyball wasn’t concerned, Ushijima really wasn’t that bad of a guy.

“It’s all right,” Hinata said, grinning. He picked the bike off the ground, hopped on, and patted the back seat enthusiastically. “Let’s go, Ushiwaka. We’ll be home before you know it!”

Ushijima frowned. “You may be the one better suited for this, but I don’t enjoy it,” he said, jumping on the back seat.

Hinata and Ushijima rode back to the house in a peaceful silence. Hinata kept himself occupied by watching flocks of birds fly overhead and waving at the occasional car driving by. With Ushijima at his back, it was more of a workout than he had expected. But at the same time, it wasn’t _that_ bad, considering he didn’t have the opportunity to go to practice today. He could feel Ushijima’s face pressed into his back, and his grip on Hinata’s waist was beginning to loosen. If Hinata had to guess, Ushijima’s day had been just as crazy as his had been.

He smiled lightly. _Looks like this wasn’t such a bad idea, after all_ , he thought.

 

* * *

 

The deep hues of the evening’s sunset had made way for a clear sky of stars by the time Hinata and Ushijima arrived home. As Hinata pulled up to his driveway, he gently braked to a stop, being careful not to make any sudden jerks. He looked behind him; Ushijima was snoring into the back of Hinata’s Shiratorizawa blazer, dreaming about volleyball tournaments years into the future if Hinata were to guess.

He let out a quiet giggle, then reached over his back, lightly nudging Ushijima’s shoulder. When Ushijima opened his eyes, grumbling groggily, Hinata grinned. “We’re here, sleepyhead.”

“Please don’t give me nonsensical nicknames,” Ushijima said.

“But you _were_ sleeping,” Hinata said, cocking his head.

“I rested my eyes for a brief minute,” Ushijima said, looking as unamused as ever. “There’s a subtle difference.”

Hinata laughed. “You can’t fool me!” He dismounted off the bike and offered a hand to Ushijima to help him get off the rear seat. Ushijima reluctantly accepted, hopping off the bike and softly landing on his own two feet.

When it was just the two of them, with no Kageyamas or Tendous or volleyball to distract them, Ushijima was actually pretty comfortable to be around. At first, Hinata thought it was just because Ushijima was inhabiting a less intimidating body (the _least_ intimidating body for Hinata, at least). But now he was starting to think it would be the case even if Ushijima were his normal giant self. He wouldn’t mind hanging out with him more, even after they got their own bodies back.

Hinata shook that thought from his head. There would be no reason for someone like Ushiwaka--volleyball prodigy, superstar ace, _Japan_ \--to see him again once this fiasco was over.

He turned to Ushijima, maintaining the same silly grin from before. “Let’s go inside,” he said, “I bet Mom and Natsu are dying to see you.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Ushijima said.

After knocking on the door, Hinata heard delighted squealing coming from inside. “Ushiwaka’s here!” a high-pitched voice yelled. Hinata could hear footsteps descending the stairs, getting louder and louder with each step. The door flung open, and a bright ball of orange came hurtling towards Hinata. He would’ve been knocked to the ground, had he not been in a body of Ushijima’s stature.

“Hi, Ushiwaka-chan!” Natsu said, squeezing Hinata’s left leg tightly. If she hugged him any harder, Hinata was sure he would’ve lost circulation in his lower extremities.

“Natsu, stop--” Hinata stopped himself, remembering that he was technically Ushijima. “--please let go of my leg,” he said, in a much calmer tone.

Natsu’s eyes widened. “You know my name?” she asked, mouth growing wide, and tightening her grip on Hinata’s leg, much to his dismay.

It hit Hinata that Natsu hadn’t been home when Ushijima and he had spent the day together on the first day of the bodyswap, familiarizing themselves with each other’s schedules and schoolwork. She had been at a friend’s house, and thus, wouldn’t have met Ushijima yet, let alone know what he looks like.

Hinata quickly half-assed an excuse. “Shouyou told me all about you,” he said. He turned to Ushijima, gritting his teeth. “Right, Hinata?”

Ushijima nodded. “Yes,” he replied, without hesitation. He crouched down to Natsu’s height and put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re the best little sister ever,” he said, a goofy smile on his face. “How could I _not_ tell him about you?”

Hinata felt queasy, partially because Ushijima nailed his personality down to a tee, and partially because it was _Ushijima_ who nailed his personality down to a tee. Who knew that Ushiwaka could look genuinely friendly when he put his mind to it? Certainly not Hinata, that’s for sure.

Natsu released her grip from Hinata’s leg and enveloped Ushijima into an equally as tight hug. “And you’re the best big brother ever!” she exclaimed, giggling. Hinata sighed in relief, the attention from Natsu temporarily taken off of him.

The three of them walked into the kitchen, and Hinata was instantly hit with the smell of takeout Chinese food: fried rice, lo mein, chicken, beef, and all. At the whiff of all of that food, Hinata’s stomach audibly grumbled. Other than the (heavenly delicious) meat bun that Ushijima bought for him, he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch over seven hours ago.

Natsu burst into laughter, and Ushijima gave Hinata a concerned look. Hinata scratched his head. “Heh, sorry.”

Hinata’s mother was at the table, emptying the dishes out of their takeout boxes into serving plates. She waved at Hinata when she saw him enter the kitchen.

“Hello, Ushijima-kun,” she said, setting the last of the plates on the table. “We’re so glad you could join us tonight.”

“I’m sorry for the short notice, Hinata-san,” Hinata said, fighting off every urge to call his mother “Mom”, like he normally would.

She dismissed him with a wave of the hand. “Oh, don’t worry about it,” she replied, “Actually, I should be the one apologizing. I didn’t have time to cook up something, but I hope this will do.” She winked. “I ordered a little extra to make up for it, too.”

This time, Hinata couldn’t resist the smile creeping on his face. “It smells great!” he exclaimed. He figured it would be okay if he broke character, just this once. He looked to Ushijima, and he didn’t seem to mind, either.

The food tasted just as good as it smelled. With every bite, Hinata gradually made peace with the fact that every meal of his day so far had been plagued with anxiety about maintaining Ushijima’s stoic persona, or avoiding Tendou’s pointed conversations. Hinata had to consciously restrain himself from devouring his entire plate in a minute flat, like some sort of savage. Even if he was eating dinner in his own home, he was technically still a guest, and he was determined to act like one, as well.

With Ushijima joining them at the table, dinner actually felt kind of pleasant for once. Normally it was just Hinata, his mother, and Natsu, who would quickly scarf down their food before going off to their respective rooms to study, play, or otherwise finish up any leftover work from the day. But with Ushijima present, everyone was engaged in lively conversation about school, volleyball, and Ushijima’s future plans. Even Natsu’s constant gazing and giggling felt less annoying, even if most of her attention was focused on Hinata, the “guest” of the night.

Hinata thought nothing could ruin the single peaceful meal he had all day.

That is, until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Hinata discreetly slipped the phone out of his pocket, into his lap, and slid the lock screen open. He wanted to throw up the delicious food he had just eaten when he saw who the message was from.

 

 **[7:28] Tendou:** heyyyy wassup shrimpy

 **[7:29] Tendou:** how’s wakatoshi treating ya?

 

Hinata winced; he thought Tendou would leave him alone for the rest of the night. Apparently he had hoped too high. He stealthily typed out a response, quickly enough to evade any attention from Natsu and Ushijima.

 

 **[7:33] Me:** uhhhh why r u txting me

 

With a single text, Tendou had managed to ruin any hopes for a normal meal Hinata had wished for. He had a sneaking suspicion he was being conditioned by Tendou to subconsciously loathe every meal he would ever eat for the rest of his life, because his stomach started churning. The heaping mound of fried rice on Hinata’s plate suddenly became very unappetizing, as all of Hinata’s thoughts turned to what Tendou would say next.

Ushijima’s mouth curled into a frown when he saw Hinata’s reaction after his phone went off again, and Hinata couldn’t blame him.

 

 **[7:35] Tendou:** cuz i care for your well being ofc  ╮(︶▽︶)╭

 **[7:36] Tendou:** but imma let you in on a secret

 

Hinata furiously typed something--anything--to get Tendou to leave him alone.

 

 **[7:37] Me:** omg im eating dinner

 **[7:37] Me:** wat is it

 

“Ushiwaka-chan, what’re you looking at?” Natsu asked, voice high and nasally, eyes fixed on Hinata. Her little crush, or whatever this was, was starting to get on Hinata’s nerves. She was beginning to sound just like the annoying little sister Hinata always knew her as, before this whole mess with Ushijima came into the picture.

“Yes, Ushijima,” Ushijima said, eyes narrowed, “Would you like to share?”

“N-nothing!” Hinata shouted instantly. He racked his brain thinking of an excuse, before settling on something he would deem ridiculous later. “I… My zipper was down,” he said lamely. His face was on fire.

Luckily for Hinata, he was able to use his words as an opportunity to hang his head low, not out of shame, but to check what Tendou had messaged him.

 

 **[7:37] Tendou:** ooooo i’m seeing a new side of shrimpy here

 **[7:38] Tendou:** but anyway

 **[7:38] Tendou:** the dude’s obsessed with ya

 **[7:38] Tendou:** he just doesnt know it yet

 **[7:39] Tendou:** im sure you've realized by now, but wakatoshi is one dense motherfucker

 

_What._

This time, Hinata’s face was not red out of embarrassment, but out of a whole new feeling altogether. The first thing that popped up into his head after reading Tendou’s message wasn’t about anything volleyball related.

It was that Ushijima had a crush on him.

Hinata mentally slapped himself. He was being delusional. Whatever subliminal tricks his mind was trying to play on him wouldn’t work, because he knew it was just Natsu’s obsession over him that was causing him to think this. _No_ , he told himself. It had to be about volleyball. Ushijima didn’t even have any other interests outside of volleyball, and the short time they had spent with one another had only proven this fact so far. He sent off another message to Tendou, telling him what he _must have_ thought to begin with.

 

 **[7:41] Me:** wait wat??? like does he think im a good player or sumthin?????

 

“Ushijima-kun, do you not like the food?” Hinata’s mom asked, “You’ve hardly eaten.”

Hinata jolted upwards and looked at his plate: it was still at least three-quarters full of fried rice and chicken. He hastily cleared the plate as best he could, stuffing his mouth at lightning speed.

“It’s delicious,” he said, slightly inaudibly, cheeks filled with half-chewed takeout food. Hinata didn’t dare look at Ushijima. He didn’t want to see the judgmental expression on his face. More importantly, however, he didn’t want Ushijima to goad him into blurting out what he was thinking. That would spell out trouble for sure.

When Hinata finished his food, Ushijima excused the two of them to go study up in Hinata’s room. After dropping his plate into the sink, Hinata checked the last of the messages Tendou had sent to him.

 

 **[7:42] Tendou:** ill leave that for you to figure out ( ´ ∀ ` )ﾉ

 **[7:42] Tendou:** anyway ill let you get back to your new bff

 **[7:42] Tendou:** toodles~

 

Hinata shook his head. Tendou was clearly just trying to rile him up, now that he knew he was in Ushiwaka’s body. There was no other reason he’d have to text him. _Yeah, that’s right!_ Hinata thought. Tendou was just jealous because his team wasn’t the one going to nationals this year. That’s why he wanted to make his life miserable. He wasn’t trying to help out Ushiwaka or anything.

Hinata held down the power button on the phone, turning it off for real. He wasn’t going to let Tendou bother him any further.

 

* * *

 

Ushijima dragged Hinata by the wrist up to his bedroom, shut the door a little more loudly than he should have, and locked the door behind them with an ominous click. He looked up at Hinata with a scowl that--if Hinata were being completely honest--had the same effect on him as if Ushijima were the one towering over him instead.

“You were texting someone at dinner,” Ushijima said, voice eerily calm, “and I would like you to tell me who it was.”

Bringing up Tendou and his texts with double-meanings would probably lead to an even bigger mess, so Hinata opted for a different route. “I was… I was texting your mom,” Hinata said, trying to keep his voice steady, “She was texting you about… volleyball stuff. Yeah! Volleyball stuff!”

“I don’t text my mother,” Ushijima said.

Hinata opened his mouth to add more detail to his lies, but then he fully comprehended Ushijima’s words. There were no texts from Ushijima’s mother in the phone when he first checked it, and he hadn’t received any from her for all of today. In fact, Hinata hadn’t received _any_ messages, apart from the ones Ushijima and Tendou sent him. Heat began to make its way back onto Hinata’s face, as he began to mumble incoherent words, probably involving profuse apologies and begging for mercy.

Ushijima exhaled loudly. “Hinata, if we are to survive this week without any serious problems, we need to tell each other about _all_ issues that arise.” He crossed his arms, and the frown on his face deepened even further. “I know it was Tendou who was texting you,” he said, “And I know because you wore the same expression I do whenever he messages me. You were being foolish if you thought you could hide this from me.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Hinata squeaked. He may have stood almost a full foot taller than Ushijima, but he never felt smaller than he did in this moment.

Ushijima tilted his head. “Why are you apologizing? I was just stating the facts.”

“So you’re not mad?” Hinata asked.

“I’m certainly not happy about it, but I also know we need to stick together, whether we like it or not. So you can tell me whatever Tendou said to you.” Ushijima raised an eyebrow. “You have nothing to lose, after all.”

Hinata gulped. Every conversation he had had with Ushijima so far--even before they switched bodies--was blunt and to the point. More importantly, Ushijima’s words had always been completely honest. If Ushijima didn’t drastically change in his philosophy in the last day, Hinata really did have nothing to worry about.

But still, he needed to word Tendou’s message in a way that was a little more palatable. Even if Ushijima was telling the truth, outright saying he was obsessed with Hinata would make things more than uncomfortable between them.

“He said you were crazy about me,” Hinata finally said.

Ushijima blinked. He stared at Hinata and… didn’t really do much else.

Hinata tried again. "Erm, I mean, he said you liked me?"

He wondered why Ushijima wasn’t responding. Then Hinata realized what he said, and his face burned hotter than he thought possible. He wanted to die. He did _not_ just say the one thing he tried to prevent himself from saying.

“N-no! No! That's not what I meant!” Hinata shouted, trying to save what little face he had left. “I was thinking about Natsu’s crush on you and then I thought of this and my thoughts got jumbled up and--”

“Why would I like you?”

Hinata flinched. It was the response he _wanted_ to hear from Ushijima, but his words hurt more than Hinata wanted to admit. “So you hate me?” he asked.

Ushijima shook his head. “Maybe in the past, but not now. You certainly have your faults as a volleyball player, but I have enjoyed your company over the last two days.” Hinata smiled slightly at Ushijima’s words, knowing he wasn’t completely horrible to be around.

Ushijima continued. “I also have no interest in pursuing a girlfriend--” he paused, “--or boyfriend, especially when I have my future as a volleyball player to consider. Tendou was speaking nonsense. I am in no position to date at this juncture in my life, nor do I have any intention to begin dating.”

Hinata sighed. This entire conversation could’ve gone wrong in so many ways, yet it didn’t. He didn’t know whether to count his blessings, or thank Ushijima for being able to see through Tendou’s bullshit.

He extended his hand to Ushijima’s. “Let’s put this behind us, then?” he asked.

Ushijima met Hinata’s hand halfway, firmly shaking it. “Yes,” he said, “And let the rest of our week be marked by diligent communication.”

With the Tendou debacle cleared up, Hinata and Ushijima spent the rest of the night trying to study, before giving up after a full fifteen minutes had gone by. Ushijima suggested using the remainder of their evening to research other cases of bodyswapping that may have occurred in the past.

After quickly skimming through some very sketchy websites with more ads than actual text, Ushijima declared that researching the bodyswap curse was a fruitless cause. From what the two could gleam out of their research, everyone else who had swapped bodies with someone was stuck like that for a full week. They had gone back in time for a week--just like they had--and were forced to live in each other’s shoes. After the full week had passed, the two people who were swapped returned to their own bodies, and time continued as normal. No one else knew what had conspired, leaving only the bodyswapees themselves to recount their experiences.

“Well this is dumb,” Hinata said, squinting at his laptop monitor, “What’s the point of this happening in the first place then?”

Ushijima shrugged. “To teach them a lesson?” he suggested. One of the blog posts they had read involved a homeless dude and a multimillionaire heiress--something straight out of a straight-to-DVD movie. But it was still better than the posts where swapping bodies caused couples to get together. Hinata shivered at the thought of that being the case for Ushijima and him.

“That’s so boring, though,” Hinata said, focusing his thoughts elsewhere. “What about switching bodies because it’s fun? I wouldn’t mind getting to be a pro volleyball player for a week. That’d be _awesome_!“

Hinata paused; that would’ve basically been the situation he was in right now, had it happened a few years into the future. He brushed the thought aside.

“You and I have very different ideas of fun,” Ushijima said. He let out a loud yawn. It must’ve been contagious, because Hinata found himself yawning, too.

“Let’s head to bed soon,” Ushijima said, “We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

For once, Hinata found himself agreeing with Ushijima. After everything that had happened today--and even this evening--all he wanted to do was crash face first into bed and a have a peaceful night's rest.

 

* * *

 

Hinata's sleep wasn't peaceful.

He dreamt in flashes. One moment, he was spiking tosses past Ushijima, Aone, and the Small Giant, giving Kageyama the loudest of high-fives with every scored point. The next moment, he was at school in nothing but his volleyball print boxers, and everyone was laughing in his face: his teacher, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, even Yachi out of all people.

And at some point, Hinata found himself standing in the middle of a field littered with daisies and daffodils in full bloom. The sky was a faint pink, and pale blue clouds were spread throughout the sky like a bed of feathers. Hinata looked down, and he was clad in purple, dressed in Shiratorizawa's uniform with the number 1 on his jersey. He knew this couldn't be real, but it was so vivid it was hard to believe it wasn't.

Hinata felt a pair of small arms wrap themselves around his legs. When he saw who those arms belonged to, he came face-to-face with Natsu, gazing up at him with flushed cheeks and dreamy eyes.

"You're so cute, Ushiwaka-chan," she cooed, giggling in between words.

"I'm not Ushiwaka--"

Before Hinata had the chance to rebut his little sister, her form changed into something larger and stronger, but still small at the same time. Hinata looked down, and Natsu had morphed into a boy dressed in black and orange, wearing the uniform of Karasuno's #10. But it couldn't be Hinata, because Hinata was looking right at him.

There was only one person it could be.

Ushijima, with hair like the sun, looked up at Hinata with piercing amber eyes. "Stay with me forever, Shouyou," he whispered, drawing out every syllable.

Hinata winced as he heard the shrill laughter of Tendou Satori fill the air, loud and malevolent.

 _"He's obsessed with you... He obsessed with you..."_ the voice chanted.

Hinata covered his ears, but Tendou's words only grew louder.

_"Wakatoshi's obsessed with you..."_

He didn't want to listen, didn't want to admit that the words coming out of Tendou's mouth were true. But it wasn't as if he had much of a choice.

_"He likes you."_

Hinata woke up in a cold sweat. His bedroom was still dark, and he groaned when he realized his good night's rest wasn't really a good night's rest after all. Hinata looked at the clock on his nightstand and read the time: 3:07 in the morning. Unfortunately for him, he was going to be a zombie tomorrow. Well, technically today.

The next thing Hinata noticed was that his toes were freezing, because his comforter was no longer covering the lower half of his body. On top of that, the upper half of his body was unusually warm, considering it was November and he was wearing nothing but a T-shirt and boxers. Hinata lifted the comforter up, adjusting it so it covered the entirety of his body once again. But when he caught a glimpse of what was lying underneath it, Hinata wished he had just let it be.

Ushijima was curled into a ball under the sheets, nuzzling Hinata's chest with a content smile on his little face.

_ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?_

Hinata wanted to scream. This was officially the worst night of his life. He thought yesterday, when he woke up in this nightmare of a body, would be the worst. Unfortunately, he was off a day. And when Ushijima wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist and mumbled into his chest, Hinata's case was proven even further.

But Hinata couldn't scream, or he'd risk waking Ushijima up. _What if Ushiwaka freaks out?_ he thought. _Does he even know he climbed into my bed? Does he sleepwalk? What is he even dreaming about in the first place???_

He stiffened up because this entire situation was stressing the hell out of him. For all intents and purposes, he was stuck sharing a bed with Ushijima Wakatoshi in what seemed like the least probable ending to his crazy day. He didn't know how much more of this he would be able to take. He didn't even know if he _could_ take anymore of this.

And now that he thought about it, well, he couldn't.

 _Fuck it_ , Hinata thought. He removed his arms from his sides, and hugged Ushijima as tightly as he was hugging him. It would be the most comfortable way to pass the night. And plus, it was only for one night. He would make sure it would _only_ be for one night.

As Hinata cuddled with Ushijima, he felt himself drifting back into slumber. Ushijima made for a great body pillow, if a little small, and the contact between them was just the right amount. He smelled like Hinata's favorite shower gel, and his fluffy orange hair felt nice in Hinata's arms. The only thing that would've made this even more pleasant is if Ushijima were a little bigger, if his arms were the ones wrapped around Hinata instead of the other way around.

Hinata stopped himself. He needed to go to bed now, because these thoughts were not doing anything good for his psyche. He needed to go to bed and wake up pretending that none of this ever happened. There was no way Ushijima climbed into his bed and cuddled with him. There was no way Ushijima liked him, and there was no way Hinata liked him back.

And there was _definitely_ no way Hinata was thinking about this to begin with. Not at chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who's stuck around to this point!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ushijima and Hinata want to put their volleyball teamwork to the test. Kageyama has second thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who would've guessed there'd be an update?

Ushijima was warm when he woke up.

He realized he was wrapped in Hinata's arms, and definitely not in the futon he fell asleep in. _Strange_ , he thought. He wasn't one to sleepwalk. Then again, he had never shared a bedroom with someone before, considering he was an only child. Even during training camps, not a single player had mentioned the habit to him before. It wasn't like they had a reason not to. He considered himself easy to approach, even if not many people did.

Ushijima wormed his way out of Hinata's grasp and checked the time on his phone: a quarter to six, or 15 minutes before his alarm was scheduled to ring. He turned off his phone as so not to wake Hinata, and headed into the bathroom to change into his practice gear. The whole concept of spending the night at a friend's--a single friend's--house was still so foreign to him. He didn't know the proper protocol for the times when he was left to his own devices; he needed to rely on his instincts to drive his decisions.

After getting dressed, Ushijima nudged Hinata on the shoulder. Hinata jolted upwards, and if he had actually jumped, Ushijima thought he might hit his head on the ceiling.

"Forgive me, Ushiwakaaaaaaa!" he shrieked in a voice loud enough to wake his mother and sister on the other side of the house. Ushijima covered his ears as Hinata had his first meltdown of the day.

"For what?" he asked once Hinata had quieted down.

"For... for..." Ushijima raised an eyebrow. "You know," Hinata whispered. His face was even redder than Tendou's hair. "For last night!"

"For sharing the same bed?" Ushijima asked.

"Don't say it out loud!" Hinata shouted. He snatched the pillow that had made its way to the foot of the bed and covered his face with it, mumbling sentences that oozed of shame.

Ushijima didn't exactly understand what Hinata was so worked up about, but did nothing but watch as he slowly calmed down. The events of last night weren't something to be embarrassed about. They already knew each other intimately enough just by virtue of occupying each others' bodies. Sharing the same space was nothing in comparison.

He spoke when Hinata removed the barrier pillow between them. "There is no reason for you to be anxious about this," Ushijima said. _"But_ , I was most likely the one who climbed into your bed to begin with. I'll ensure it doesn't happen again." He bowed as a sign of apology and felt a little more placated when Hinata let out a sigh of relief.

Hinata averted his eyes. "Yeah, about that..." he said, voice trailing off, "...I think we should keep this as a one-time thing."

"The arrangement worked out well, though," Ushijima said. "You enjoyed a night without Tendou over your shoulder, and I had the opportunity to enjoy your company."

Hinata let out a low squeak and Ushijima blinked. It wasn't a lie.

"Don't you think it's a little weird though," he asked.

"No?"

"I mean, I'd be staying at someone else's home for days. That's just intrusive, no matter how you look at it!"

"This _is_ your home," Ushijima said.

"And _your_ home is at Shiratorizawa, but you're still staying at my house," Hinata said. "It makes sense I do the same with yours."

"Dorm," Ushijima corrected, "But I won't stop you. If this is the path you wish to take, so it shall be." He had to admit that Hinata's logic was sound, even if he didn't necessarily agree that it was the best option.

Less than ten minutes later, Ushijima and Hinata were in the kitchen where the same large breakfast from yesterday awaited them. He observed Hinata scarf down bowl after bowl of eggs and rice, consuming the meal like a vacuum. He seemed to be in a mad rush to get out of the house and into the day, and Ushijima couldn't see why. It would probably be the last time he would have a home-cooked meal for the rest of the week; he should savor it while he can.

After Hinata's mom packed Ushijima's lunch and a small snack for Hinata, the two headed out the door. Ushijima wished Hinata's mother a good day, Hinata said another round of thanks to Hinata-san ( _not_ Mom, thanks to Ushijima's quick intervention) for accomodating him for the night, and they set off for their next day.

"So, I'll drop you off and my bike at Karasuno, then take the bus to Shiratorizawa," Hinata said as he pedaled away. "Sound like a plan?"

"Yes," Ushijima said. He repositioned himself on the passenger's seat of Hinata's bike and placed his hands on Hinata's hips to leverage himself.

Hinata jumped slightly, sending the bike into a slight wobble. He pedaled even faster to compensate. "And no falling asleep like last time!" he shouted.

"Hinata, we just woke up," Ushijima said. "I won't be falling asleep anytime soon."

 

* * *

 

Ushijima and Hinata made it to Karasuno a full five minutes faster than yesterday, which was impressive, considering how far away Hinata's house was from the campus. Hinata had biked with such vigor that it was apparent he was eager to get a jump start on his day, maybe even getting in a round of practice before he headed off to Shiratorizawa. Ushijima expected none less from the boy who put everything he had into the sport they loved.

Karasuno was empty when they arrived. Apart from some cawing crows perched on top of the school gates, the school grounds were lifeless. Hinata surveyed their surroundings just in case and let out a silent prayer once he realized the coast was clear.

Hinata hopped off the bike, his legs wobbling like the gelatin they served at the school dining hall. If Hinata had been planning to attend morning practice, Ushijima would've scolded him for overexerting himself when warm-ups hadn't even started.

Hinata extended a hand to Ushijima, then quickly withdrew it with a wince on his face once he had gotten off the bike.

"I'll see you at practice this afternoon, yes?" Ushijima asked.

"Practice?" Hinata said slowly. "With you?"

Ushijima nodded. "Yes. With myself and the rest of your team."

Hinata paused for what felt like minutes. Ushijima watched as Hinata's expression turned from one of confusion to one that would only appear if he had overslept on the day of the Interhigh Tournament. He wasn't impressed.

"Ushiwaka, I'm sure if we should..." Hinata began.

"This is what we agreed on, no?" Ushijima asked. "We would attend your team's practices together so I could keep an eye on you."

"Well, yeah, but..."

"And you were looking forward to it, if my memory serves correctly."

"Well I _was!"_ Hinata said. "But now that I think about it, maybe it's best we give each other some space! I mean, we HAVE seen a lot of each other these past few days."

Ushijima didn't understand what Hinata's problem was. It was practically all he had talked about yesterday. He couldn't be ashamed to be practicing with him. He wasn't just the prefectures top ace, he was one of the nation's top aces overall. So what was it?

Ushijima pursed his lips. "Hinata, last night we made it clear that we cannot hide anything from each other if we are to make this week work."

"I'm not hiding anything! It's just..."

Before Ushijima could refute him, Hinata's expression did a complete 180. He frowned; the expression did not suit him at all, and he had seen far too much of it today.

Hinata pointed a shaky finger at Ushijima. When he tilted his head in confusion, Hinata mouthed to look behind him. Ushijima turned around to find Kageyama Tobio with his jaw wide open.

"What the _fuck,"_ Kageyama said.

"K-Kage-y-yama..." Hinata--and by extension, Ushijima--sounded like he was about to be banished to his death. Even though it wasn't him, Ushijima couldn't have the other members of Karasuno think he was soft. Thinking quickly, he crouched down and jumped high in front of Hinata, obscuring his face.

"Morning, Kageyama!" Ushijima said, smiling with as many teeth as he could.

Kageyama ignored his greeting, instead shooting a finger behind him. "Hinata!" he shouted. "What the hell is this?!"

Ushijima cocked his head. "What do you mean 'this'?"

"You fucking dumbass!" Kageyama barked. "Why is _Ushiwaka_ here?!"

"Oh, him?" Ushijima asked, feigning ignorance. "We were studying together last night, and you know how far away my place is. He stayed the night." When Kageyama didn't reply, Ushijima shook Hinata's blazer, nudging him back and forth. "Right, Waka-kun?"

Thankfully, Ushijima felt like he was starting to get the hang of Hinata's mannerisms. For instance, he knew that Hinata gave nicknames to people who he was close with. Kageyama and Natsu, for instance. He liked to think that he was also one of them now.

Ushijima looked over at Hinata; his jaw was dropped. Then he looked back to Kageyama, and his jaw was dropped even lower.

"W-Waka-kun..." Hinata let out weakly to no one in particular.

 _"Waka-kun?"_ Kageyama screeched.

Ushijima involuntarily gulped for the first time since they switched bodies. "Yeah?" he asked. "What of it?"

Hinata elbowed Ushijima in the back before Kageyama could make anymore scathing remarks. When Ushijima turned his head, Hinata cleared his throat. "Anyway, _Hinata-san,"_ he said in a sharp voice, "I should get going. I don't want to miss my first class of the day."

Ushijima raised an eyebrow. Shiratorizawa's classes started well after Karasuno's morning practice; he would know. "You don't plan on staying for practice?"

 _"No,"_ Hinata boomed. He shoved the bike into Ushijima's hands, refusing to meet his gaze. "I'll... I'll see you later, okay?"

Ushijima nodded. "Have a good day, Ushijima-san," he said, placing extra emphasis on the formal address. "I'll see you at practice this afternoon."

He blinked once more when Hinata very visibly clenched his fist and swore before walking off.

When Hinata was out of sight, Ushijima turned his attention to Kageyama, who was still in some sort of catatonic state. He would have some explaining to do.

 

* * *

 

The next moment they were alone, Kageyama pinned Hinata against a locker, slamming his hand against the locker with a loud 'clang'. He had the same look of ferocity he had in an actual volleyball match. Instead of channeling it into his plays, however, it was directly completely towards Ushijima.

"Explain yourself," Kageyama snarled, " _Now_."

Ushijima stared at him blankly. "Is this about Ushiwaka?" he asked.

"No shit it's about Ushiwaka," Kageyama said. "What the fuck were you doing with _him_?"

"I told you. We studied together last night. I swear!"

Kageyama furrowed his brow. "Study my ass," he retorted. "He's a third year. And doesn't even go to our school."

"It's not like that has to do with anything," Ushijima said, puckering his lips into that slight pout Hinata always put on. "Math is math, Kageyama."

"And Ushiwaka is the last person I'd expect you to go to. Especially when Yachi let us study with her last weekend."

Ushijima paused. It would have more than helped if Hinata had told him these details instead of spending that first day together studying. Quite frankly, he would've preferred going that route instead. He wondered if there was any other pertinent information he didn't know about. _Oh well,_ he thought. They still had a few more days to get to know each other, this time in detail.

"I wanted some extra help," he finally said, and in that moment, he could've sworn he heard a vein burst in Kageyama's head.

"You don't even open your book unless we have an exam coming up, you dumbass!" Kageyama shouted. He kicked his foot against the open locker and swore when he stubbed his toe. He didn't let the pain stop him, though. "And yes, I am actually calling you a dumbass!"

Ushijima didn't know what to say. He had never had to defend himself in his life, let alone with someone as confrontational as Kageyama. And barely knowing anything about Hinata prior to this week didn't help, either.

Kageyama put a hand to his face. "Don't tell me... there's something going on between you two."

"Something going on?" Ushijima asked.

"Damn it, Hinata! Don't make me say it!"

Ushijima stared at him blankly. Kageyama was beginning to turn as red as Hinata had been this morning.

Kageyama gritted his teeth. "Are you... are you _friends_ with him now?"

"Maybe I am," Ushijima said.

Kageyama let out a sigh that rivaled Tendou's whenever the team was punished with a hundred practice serves. "Why am I not surprised," he said. "Seriously. You have to stop befriending every single person on every damn team we face."

Ushijima knew it was an overstatement, but it didn't stop him from cracking a smile. Hinata was beginning to rub off of him in many ways, and his mannerisms were only one of them. "I don't see anything wrong with it," he said.

"And now you're going to say you invited him to practice."

Ushijima was about to reply "yes, I did," but then Kageyama's mouth lingered open; Ushijima imagined he had came to the same conclusion. After all, those were his parting words to Hinata earlier.

_"I'll see you at practice this afternoon."_

Kageyama threw his hands in the air. "Unbelievable!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Ushijima. "You know how I called you a dumbass earlier?"

"Yes?"

"Well I'm going to do it again," Kageyama said. "Dumbass Hinata, you are the dumbest dumbass on this entire team!" When Ushijima's facial expression didn't change, Kageyama continued. "No, I take that back. You're the dumbest dumbass in the entire dumb Miyagi prefecture!" he spat. "Dumbass!"

Before Ushijima had the chance to rebuke him, Kageyama had stormed out of the clubroom. Ushijima wondered if Kageyama was like this every day. Then he decided that if Hinata was able to become friends with someone like him, maybe he really _could_ befriend every rival he's ever come across.

 

* * *

 

Ushijima stared at the rustling bush standing out among all the other bushes lining the perimeter of the Karasuno gymnasium. Hinata's attempt at hiding wasn't a very good one; Ushijima could see the tip of his back peeking out from the top of the hedge.

Ushijima turned to Kageyama, who gave a hesitant nod in reply. He cleared his throat:

"Ushiwaka, it's safe to come out now."

After another angry lunchtime tirade from Kageyama filled with much more swearing than appropriate, Ushijima realized that maybe it would be best to hold practice with Hinata away from the eye of the rest of the team. More specifically, they would practice a half hour after the team's regular practice had concluded.

Hinata seemed eager about the arrangement. After a string of unrelated questions (Waka-kun? Waka-kun? Why did you call me Waka-kun?!) and a bunch of rebuttals on Ushijima's end (It's only appropriate you give me a nickname since we're spending the week together. That's something you do, is it not?), Hinata agreed with vigor once he actually comprehended what Ushijima was trying to tell him.

What surprised Ushijima even more was that Kageyama was willing to stick around to help them out. His instincts told him there was no ulterior motive behind it. Instead, Kageyama seemed genuinely concerned to protect Hinata from a nonexistent threat. Ushijima would prove to him that yes, this practice was real, and yes, Hinata would be a better player from it.

Hinata emerged from the bush covered in twigs and leaves wearing his Shiratorizawa practice gear. If he had failed to camouflage himself in the bushes before, he stuck out like a sore thumb now.

"Greetings, Hinata Shouyou," he said. He turned to Kageyama and nodded. "And you, Kageyama." Ushijima nodded in approval; Hinata's impression of him wasn't raising any eyebrows so far.

Hinata then stooped down to meet Kageyama face to face, even if it was only a few centimeters. Ushijima could see the faintest trace of a smug smile forming on his lips. With Hinata in his body, he actually did look intimidating, something he had probably never been in his entire lifetime. Or maybe it was just because Ushijima was forced to look at himself from Hinata's perspective. He made a note to soften his frowns once they returned to normal, considering his underclassmen had always been hesitant to reach out to him.

"I trust you'll make this practice worth my time," Hinata said in his most menacing voice.

Kageyama dug crescents into his palms. "You damn bet I will," he replied.

The air was tense, and this time, Ushijima couldn't deny it. He thought about what Hinata would do in this situation. Hinata Shouyou, who had pressed forward with every uncomfortable scenario they had been subjected to so far this week.

So he clapped his hands together. "Well!" he exclaimed, "Now that we're all here, let's get on with this!"

Kageyama gave a nasty glare to Hinata, and Hinata gave a nasty glare in return. Then Hinata strolled into the gymnasium with his head held high, maintaining his Ushijima persona until he was out of sight.

Ushijima was about to walk into the gym as well when Kageyama nudged him on the shoulder. "Hey, Hinata," he said. Ushijima turned around, and the competitiveness that had marked Kageyama's face earlier was replaced with concern. "Are you sure this is the best idea?"

"I don't see any drawbacks," Ushijima said.

"No surprises there," Kageyama said, scrunching his nose. "I'm just saying. Because of... you know. What happened between us last summer."

"Last summer?" Ushijima asked before he could stop himself. It was definitely a sensitive subject; even though he was in Hinata's body, Hinata's affairs remained his own.

"Don't play dumb with me now," Kageyama said. "I'm talking about the training camp. We set our expectations too high and ended up not talking for a month."

Ushijima raised an eyebrow. Hinata and Kageyama having a fight? They were flawless and perfectly in-sync on the court, both in the championship game and now. But in retrospect, it shouldn't have surprised him; one doesn't achieve greatness without meticulous practice. The same held true for him.

Kageyama continued. "Look, I don't know exactly what's going on between you two, but it looks like you care a lot about Ushiwaka." He sighed. "Just... just don't think this will be life changing, because you've sure been talking like it will. I don't want the same thing to happen to you two."

 _It's not anything special, though_ , Ushijima thought. As much as the last few days had been unexpected, challenging, _new_ for him, this promise of extra practice was the driving force behind it. He and Hinata would've dealt with it in their own, separate ways had it not been for it. His stomach pitted at the thought.

He shook it off. "It won't," Ushijima said, walking to the gym whether Kageyama followed him or not. When Kageyama didn't, he turned around and grinned. "Hey. Kageyama-kun. Don't tell me this means you're chickening out?"

Kageyama's eyes widened, then narrowed just as quickly. "Fuck no," he said. "Let's get this over with."

 

* * *

 

With Hinata's arrival, practice was nearly ready to commence. The court didn't need any additional setup. The net was still assembled from this afternoon's practice, and a basket of balls was sitting at the far end of it. Kageyama went to the supply closet anyway to retrieve even more spare reserve of balls. He said that knowing Hinata, they were bound to go through all of them anyway.

Ushijima and Hinata were the only two people left on the court. He wondered if he should say something to Hinata, but then he didn't need to.

"Ushiwaka!" Hinata called.

"Yes?" Ushijima asked. With Hinata's blunt voice, he had trouble discerning the tone of it.

"I'm sorry about this morning," Hinata said; Ushijima let out a small exhale. "Man, I was such a jerk!"

"You were speaking your mind," Ushijima said.

"Yeah, but I didn't have to be so mean about it!" Hinata said. "What I wanted to say is, you're... you're actually a good guy, Ushiwaka."

"A good guy?"

Hinata nodded. "Mmhmm. I had some time to clear my head after everything that happened yesterday..." His voice lowered into a mumble. "and this morning... but yeah." Hinata regained his composure, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "But anyway, I haven't been able to formally do this, so I wanted to do it now."

Hinata shut his eyes and shot down into a bow, arms at his sides and back at a nearly 90 degree angle.

"Thank you for practicing with me!" he shouted.

Ushijima stared blankly at him. Hinata's exclamation's echoed through the empty gymnasium. Ushijima glanced over at the supply closet, wondering if Kageyama had heard the sudden outburst.

He turned his attention back to Hinata. "I haven't done anything to deserve thanks," he said.

"You _have_ , though," Hinata countered. "You didn't have to practice with me, or text me all day, or hang out with me after school. But you did, and I'm so excited! For all the wild stuff that's happened, being able to practice together will make up for it tenfold." He laughed. "That's what really matters in the end, isn't it?"

Hinata had a point: even if they never switched bodies, even if they were still hostile foes on opposite teams, they still had their common passion for volleyball to connect them. But did he agree that it would only happen in these circumstances? Ushijima decided not to think about it.

"I agree," he said. "And I'm glad to hear."

"I'm glad, too!" Hinata said. "This is, like, the one bright spot of this ridiculous--Eep!"

Kageyama returned with cart full of yellow and blue volleyballs--and a confused expression on his face.

"Hey, Kageyama, you hear anything just now?" Ushijima asked suddenly.

Kageyama furrowed his brow. "No?" he said.

"Just checking."

Hinata kicked Ushijima and cleared his throat. " _As_ I was saying... Uh..." Hinata paused. "...Your training for today will be fundamental."

Ushijima nodded. He had suggested possible routes of practice during their phone call at lunch. He could only hope Hinata remembered them correctly. "Explain," he said.

"We will work on your blocks. With the differences in our physiques, I can't help you with your spike's power or form. _However,_ I can show you what is required to counter one of mine."

"Even though you're a wing spiker?" Kageyama asked.

"My position does not matter when the skills we will be working on are this elementary," Hinata said.

Kageyama clenched his fist, then shot a tentative glance over to Ushijima. He didn't acknowledge it. Hinata's words were the truth, after all.

"Now enough with the idle chatter," Hinata said. "We should make the most of our time together, starting now."

"I'm one-hundred percent behind you on that one," Kageyama said through gritted teeth. He pulled the cart of balls next to him and took out a ball from the top, giving it a quick spin on the tip of his finger before holding it.

Hinata turned to Ushijima. "Hinata, are you ready?" he asked.

"You bet I am," Ushijima replied. He ran over to the other side of the net and set himself in position.

"Good," Hinata said. "Kageyama, please give me high and center tosses."

Kageyama nodded. "Got it."

 _It's time,_ Ushijima thought. He braced himself, ready to jump high.

Kageyama set the ball, Hinata jumped up with a running start, smashed his palm down, and...

It missed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Full disclosure: I know nothing about how actual volleyball practices are run)
> 
> All right, I'm biting the bullet and putting this on hiatus for now. New chapters will come, but not immediately and not on a regular schedule. So stay tuned!


End file.
